MA Governor Praised for Rejection of Secure Communities Initiative; Moratorium Urged

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Keith Rushing
krushing@rightsworkinggroup.org
(p) 202.591.3305, (c) 202.557.4291

Washington, D.C. – (June 7, 2011) Rights Working Group praises Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick’s bold decision to reject his state’s participation in the “Secure Communities” Initiative, a program of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency of the Department of Homeland Security. 

“This is a victory for civil rights protection in Massachusetts and for advocates around the country who have worked to disprove ICE’s misinformation campaign,” said Margaret Huang, Executive Director of the Rights Working Group.  “Gov. Patrick clearly sees that the program sweeps up those who do not have criminal records. The Initiative fails communities—making them less - not more - safe.”

Massachusetts has followed Illinois and New York in rejecting Secure Communities.

The ICE  program launched in 2008 runs the names and fingerprints of everyone arrested through federal immigration databases. Although ICE claims that the program targets the “worst of the worst” by detaining and deporting dangerous criminals, ICE’s own data shows the vast majority of those deported under the program had either minor criminal convictions or no criminal convictions.

Individuals targeted by the Secure Communities Initiative have included victims of domestic violence and other crimes. The program breaks up families and decreases safety by making it more difficult for police to win cooperation from immigrant communities out of fear that a call to police can lead to deportation. 

In addition, Rights Working Group has long denounced  the lack of transparency and accountability in the implementation of the program. Investigative reporters and documents retrieved through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit unraveled ICE’s inaccurate statements and reversals—leading Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) to call for an investigation into the Initiative. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus has urged President Obama to place a moratorium on the Initiative immediately.

“The Secure Communities Initiative invites racial profiling, strips individuals of their right to due process and jeopardizes the federal government’s exclusive authority to enforce our nation’s immigration laws. Many concerned local jurisdictions and their conscientious law enforcement leaders have been asserting their desire to opt-out of Secure Communities. Local leaders know that, due to the climate created by the Secure Communities Initiative and the 287(g) Program, the trust between immigrants and law enforcement crucial to community policing efforts has been diminished. Immigrants now fear going to the police for help, checking into hospitals for emergency medical care, driving to the grocery store and taking their kids to school.  Our communities have been made more insecure since the rise of the Secure Communities Initiative,” said Huang.

Rights Working Group urges the Obama Administration to end the reliance on state and local police for immigration enforcement activities. Specifically, ICE should:

• Declare a national moratorium on the Secure Communities Initiative until local and state jurisdictions have the opportunity to choose whether or not to participate.
• Commit to collecting and monitoring data from localities participating in the Secure Communities Initiative and the 287(g) Program to demonstrate the presence or absence of racial profiling and making such data publicly available.
• End the 287(g) Program and terminate existing agreements.

 For interviews with Margaret Huang, contact RWG Communications Manager Keith Rushing at (p) 202.591.3305 or (m) 202.557.4291.

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