NEW YORK AND ILLINOIS WITHDRAW FROM SECURE COMMUNITIES

New York and Illinois have withdrawn from Homeland Security’s Secure Communities Program. Under the Secure Communities Program ICE, a division of Homeland Security has a direct computer connection to each county or state to check the immigration status of each person arrested. Its stated goal is to deport noncitizens convicted of serious offenses. But in reality it gives them the chance to deport any noncitizen who is arrested whether or not the person is charged or convicted of any offense.

In Illinois studies showed that 30 per cent of those deported under the program had never been convicted of any crime and only 20 percent had been convicted of a serious crime.

California and Massachusetts are also considering withdrawal from the program.

One problem from the point of view of law enforcement and the immigration community is that Secure Communities inhibits the reporting of crime within the immigrant community. For example, an undocumented immigrant is less likely to report domestic violence if they know that the perpetrator is likely to be deported. Yes, they want the domestic violence to end. Yes, they want the perpetrator to receive treatment. But they don’t want their loved one, who they often depend upon for financial support, to be deported.