ImmigrationMassachusetts defies feds, rejects Secure Communities
Massachusetts has become the latest state to reject DHS’s Secure Communities program; the state announced it would not sign a memorandum of understanding to participate in the DHS program; Massachusetts is the fourth state to reject Secure Communities in recent weeks; New York, California, and Illinois have all made efforts to reject the program as well; a DHS official said the federal government will force Massachusetts to join the program and that the state has no jurisdiction to opt out
Demonstrators at an anti-Secure Communities rally // Source: answercoalition.org
Massachusetts has become the latest state to reject DHS’s controversial Secure Communities program.
On Monday, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick announced that he would not sign a memorandum of understanding to participate in the DHS program. Governor Patrick is the third governor to reject Secure Communities program in recent weeks. Under the program, the fingerprints of individuals apprehended by local law enforcement officials are automatically run through DHS and Department of Justice databases to verify their immigration status as well as their criminal record. But the program has drawn sharp criticism from opponents who say that it has been used by zealous immigration officials to deport large numbers of law-abiding undocumented aliens.
Immigration advocates say that about a quarter of those deported under the program are never convicted of a crime due to racial profiling.
Massachusetts joins New York, California, and Illinois who have all made efforts to reject the program as well. But it remains unclear whether Massachusetts has the power to not participate in Secure Communities.
On Tuesday, a DHS official, who spoke anonymously to the Boston Globe, said the federal government will force Massachusetts to join the program and that the state has no jurisdiction to opt out.
According to the official, Governor Patrick can do little to stop the program as the data-sharing systems for the program have already been installed and the governor has no legal power to block their use.
“It might delay the statewide implementation a little bit, but I think our position is we will continue to expand it when we are ready, where we are ready,’’ the official said.
While the state may not have formally agreed to buy into the program, law enforcement officials in Suffolk County, which includes Boston, are already participating in Secure Communities. In addition DHS officials say they will continue to use fingerprints obtained in Illinois and New York.
In a letter to Marc Rapp, the acting director of Secure Communities, Margaret Heffernan of the state’s Executive Office on Public Safety and Security, wrote, “Governor Patrick and I share your public safety objectives and agree serious criminals who are here illegally should be deported. However, Secure Communities, as implemented nationally, does not reflect those objectives.”
“We are reluctant to participate if the program is mandatory and unwilling to participate if it is voluntary,” she added.
So far Secure Communities is in place in 1,331 counties across forty-two states and DHS plans to implement the program nationwide by 2013.
