The Department of Homeland Security\u2019s Immigration and Customs Enforcement branch will implement its \u201cSecure Communities\u201d program in New York City beginning May 15, 2012.<\/p>\n
ICE<\/a>, created in 2003, portrays the program as the natural next step to effectively address immigration in the United States. On its website <\/a>it claims that<\/p>\n Secure Communities is a simple and common sense way to carry out ICE’s priorities. It uses an already-existing federal information-sharing partnership between ICE and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that helps to identify criminal aliens without imposing new or additional requirements on state and local law enforcement. For decades, local jurisdictions have shared the fingerprints of individuals who are arrested or booked into custody with the FBI to see if they have a criminal record. Under Secure Communities, the FBI automatically sends the fingerprints to ICE to check against its immigration databases. If these checks reveal that an individual is unlawfully present in the United States or otherwise removable due to a criminal conviction, ICE takes enforcement action \u2013 prioritizing the removal of individuals who present the most significant threats to public safety as determined by the severity of their crime, their criminal history, and other factors \u2013 as well as those who have repeatedly violated immigration laws.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The program will also be implemented in Massachusetts that day, with supporters including Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson who said Secure Communities \u201cisn\u2019t just a big victory for law enforcement.\u201d Referring to \u201cseveral high-profile motor-vehicle accidents involving illegal immigrants\u201d as reported by The Boston Globe<\/a>, Hodgson claims \u201c[the program] is a big victory for the families who have lost loved ones.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cS-Comm,\u201d as several sources have started calling it, has also come under fire, with Governor Cuomo opposing the program. Fox Latino reported today<\/a> that \u201cNew York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said that it will harm too many people charged with low-level offenses and make immigrants hesitant to cooperate with police or report crimes.\u201d The New York Immigration Coalition <\/a>released a statement from its executive director Ms. Chung-Wha Hong in which she explains that \u201cit has been clear from its inception that this program undermines our safety and infringes on our civil rights. And evidence of its fundamental flaws has only continued to mount. We now know that Latinos are disproportionately arrested by ICE through Secure Communities, the program has an adverse impact on community policing, and states and localities around the country do not want it in their communities.\u201d<\/p>\n ICE claims it has these concerns in mind and has begun work on policies to protect the civil rights of those involved and training officers to adequately fulfill ICE\u2019s mission.<\/p>\n The promise, however, rings empty and there are protests <\/a>in the works against yet another anti-immigrant policy in the United States.<\/p>\n References:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/em>Fox News Latino. “Secure Communities Activated in New York, Despite Objections.” http:\/\/latino.foxnews.com\/latino\/politics\/2012\/05\/11\/secure-communities-activated-in-new-york-despite-objections\/#ixzz1uclLWSeR<\/a><\/p>\n New York Immigration Coalition. http:\/\/www.thenyic.org\/PR_scomm_active_5-11-12<\/a><\/p>\n Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights. https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NorthernManhattanCoalitionForImmigrantRights<\/a><\/p>\n The Boston Globe. “Feds to activate Secure Communities.” http:\/\/www.boston.com\/Boston\/metrodesk\/2012\/05\/feds-activate-secure-communities-program-mass-despite-objections-from-gov-patrick\/1rNb4cZnuuRqsZ6RtvgNYO\/index.html<\/a><\/p>\n U.S Immigrant and Customs Enforcement. Overview. http:\/\/www.ice.gov\/about\/overview\/<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n <\/em>U.S Immigrant and Customs Enforcement. Secure Communities. http:\/\/www.ice.gov\/secure_communities\/<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Department of Homeland Security\u2019s Immigration and Customs Enforcement branch will implement its \u201cSecure Communities\u201d program in New York City beginning May 15, 2012. ICE, created in 2003, portrays the program as the natural next step to effectively address immigration … Continue reading