Rights Groups Say Proposed Tweaks to Secure Communities Program Are Too Little Too Late

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Keith Rushing, Communications Manager
krushing@rightsworkinggroup.org
(p) (202) 591-3305 (c) (202) 557-4291

June 17, 2011, Washington, D.C. – The Center for Constitutional Rights, Detention Watch Network (DWN), the National Immigration Project, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, and Rights Working Group (RWG), reject Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) announcement today of minor changes to Secure Communities, a federal immigration enforcement program that has come under fire from communities nationwide that say it not only fails to meet ICE’s own stated objectives, but also undermines public safety, invites racial profiling and funnels non-citizens into a dangerous detention and deportation system. Just this month, states like New York, Massachusetts and Illinois and other localities announced their refusal to participate in the controversial program.

While it is encouraging that ICE appears to be responding to the broad public outcry against Secure Communities, the appointment of a commission to inquire into abuses will do nothing to address the program’s underlying dysfunction; rather, groups say these cosmetic changes only mask the dangers of rolling out a program unfettered by meaningful oversight and accountability.

“These changes are nowhere near sufficient to address the well-documented problems with the Secure Communities program that has thus far torn apart countless families across the country by  funneling people into a detention and deportation system rife with abuse,” said Andrea Black, Executive Director of Detention Watch Network. “The flaws with Secure Communities run so deep that the only solution is termination of the program.”

“We are stunned by the inadequacy of this announcement. Reform before review not only puts the cart before the horse, it continues to take the country in the wrong direction,” said Paromita Shah, Associate Director of the National Immigration Project. “ICE should listen to our elected leaders rather than ramming this federal program down the throats of localities that want nothing to do with it.”

Retired Chief of the Sacramento Police Department and Current Project Director of the Law Enforcement Engagement Initiative, Arturo Venegas, says “The creation of a commission sometimes politically manages controversial issues.  But, how does it get selected, who gets appointed, and what role is it expected to fulfill? When federal auditors and inspectors are ignored, as they were with the 287(g) program, one has to wonder what good an “advisory” committee will do here.  Advice given is not required to be taken!  You have three Governors and umpteen Chiefs of Police and Sheriffs telling you there are major problems with the program and that they want out.  How much heavyweight advice do you need?”

Ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation by the Center for Constitutional Rights, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network and the Immigration Justice Clinic of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law has revealed that Secure Communities is part of a vast, sophisticated biometrics system that is largely unregulated, and some experts say the program infringes on the constitutionally-protected privacy rights of U.S. citizens.

“ICE is simply putting lipstick on a pig. The civil rights and privacy issues triggered by the implementation of Secure Communities are just the tip of the iceberg,” said Sunita Patel, Center for Constitutional Rights staff attorney. “Our litigation has revealed the possibility of a much larger Big Brother scheme taking root – every community in the country may soon be fighting violations of our due process rights.”

“Secure Communities is a Frankenstein program – and no amount of makeup can help save our communities from its ravaging effects,” said Pablo Alvarado, Director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. “Secure Communities is a symbol of President Obama’s approach to immigration – more spin than substance. Nothing less than a cancellation of the program could move this administration towards repairing the trust it has lost with Latino communities across the country.”

“This Administration can no longer continue standing by Secure Communities,” said Margaret Huang, Executive Director of Rights Working Group. “By continuing to support the program it is sanctioning racial profiling, eroding the trust local law enforcement agencies have built with communities of color and signaling to the international community that our immigration system does not respect the basic human rights of all persons in our country.”

The Obama Administration immediately:

• Publicly oppose and terminate all programs that create partnerships between state and local law enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security;
• Halt the development of the vast surveillance infrastructure that houses Secure Communities and inform the public of the current scope and purpose of its data collection and dissemination activities; and
• Allow state and local jurisdictions to opt-out of Secure Communities.

For more information, visit:

The Center for Constitutional Rights: www.CCRjustice.org, and follow @theCCR
Detention Watch Network:  www.detentionwatchnetwork.org, and follow @DetentionWatch
The National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild: www.nationalimmigrationproject.org
The National Day Laborer Organizing Network: www.ndlon.org, and follow @NDLON
Rights Working Group: www.rightsworkinggroup.org, and follow @RightsWorking

Contact: Alison Roh Park, Center for Constitutional Rights, apark@ccrjustice.org (212) 614-6480; Carlos Perez de Alejo, Detention Watch Network, carlos@detentionwatchnetwork.org (321) 948-3423; B. Loewe, NDLON (773) 791-4668, bloewe@ndlon.org;

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