To help put an end to state and local authorities’ objections over the controversial Secure Communities program, John Morton, the director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced on Friday that the agency would end its memorandum of agreements with state governors “to avoid further confusion.”

 

The move is designed to ease DHS’s efforts to expand the immigration program across the nation, despite the increasing criticism that the program has received.

Under Secure Communities state and local law enforcement agencies would scan the fingerprints of arrested individuals and cross-reference them against FBI and DHS databases to check for any outstanding warrants or immigration law violations.

The program is aimed at deporting violent illegal immigrants, but it has come under fire by critics who say that it is being used as a tool to deport ordinary law-abiding immigrants and minor offenders.

Recently more states have joined the growing ranks of those opposed to the program and have sought to opt out. New York governor Andrew Cuomo and Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick have both announced that their states would not participate in the program, but were awaiting confirmation from DHS officials on whether they had the legal authority to do so.

Internal DHS documents reveal that the agency has stated publicly that local authorities could withdraw from the program and contradictorily that they could not.

In an effort to set the record straight, Morton sent a letter to governors stating that their signatures were no longer “legally necessary” for the program. Prior to the announcement, ICE required governors to sign a memorandum of agreement to enroll in the program.

In practice, the announcement changes nothing as DHS officials have said they intend to continue rolling out the program regardless of whether a governor agrees or not. But eliminating the need for memos silences governors from making public objections to the program and paves the way for a smoother expansion of the program.

The announcement has angered immigration advocates who say the decision ignores their concerns as well as those of state and local officials like Governor Patrick who maintain that the program is not deporting violent criminals, but law abiding illegal aliens who came to work peacefully.

“This is a message from the federal government to the state of Massachusetts that this program will be crammed down their throats, regardless of their opposition,’’ said B. Loewe, spokesman for the Los Angeles-based National Day Laborer Organizing Network.

Meanwhile advocates of the Secure Communities program praised the decision.

“Federal law applies to all the states including Massachusetts,’’ said Steve Kropper, cochairman of Massachusetts Citizens for Immigration Reform. “If Massachusetts is known for being hostile to illegal immigrants, we will reap economic benefits. Dithering about whether to enforce the law is the worst of all paths.’’