secure communities

Secure Communities

Under the Secure Communities program (aka "SCOMM" or "S-COMM"), those booked into local jails are checked to see if they're here illegally or have other immigration-related issues. Local jails already send information to the FBI on those they arrest; under SCOMM, the Department of Homeland Security accesses the same data.

If the DHS learns that an inmate is an illegal alien, they may go to the jail to pick the inmate up. Or, they might decide not to do so.

Both Barack Obama and Janet Napolitano generally support the program (even if they have tried to weaken it), but some do not. The latter group includes many on the far-left, corrupt politicians, and ethnocentric advocates.

SCOMM is a weak form of immigration enforcement - it doesn't involve levying huge fines or conducting large-scale raids. When someone opposes it, that's a very good sign that they don't have much use for immigration enforcement to begin with.

Here's the DHS description (ice . gov/secure_communities):

For decades, local jurisdictions have shared the fingerprints of individuals who are booked into jails with the FBI to see if they have a criminal record. Under Secure Communities, the FBI automatically sends the fingerprints to ICE to check against its immigration databases. If these checks reveal that an individual is unlawfully present in the United States or otherwise removable due to a criminal conviction, ICE takes enforcement action – prioritizing the removal of individuals who present the most significant threats to public safety as determined by the severity of their crime, their criminal history, and other factors – as well as those who have repeatedly violated immigration laws... Secure Communities imposes no new or additional requirements on state and local law enforcement, and the federal government, not the state or local law enforcement agency, determines what immigration enforcement action, if any, is appropriate... Only federal DHS officers make immigration enforcement decisions, and they do so only after an individual is arrested for a criminal violation of state law, separate and apart from any violations of immigration law.

Last modified Jul 26, 2012
Discussed in (click each link for the full post):

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[UPDATE BELOW]

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From an official statement [1]: Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that New York State will suspend participation in the federal Secure Communities Program to review the mounting evidence that the program is not meeting its stated goal and has serious consequences for witnesses, victims of crime and law enforcement.

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[IMPORTANT UPDATE BELOW]

Tom Ammiano tries to block Secure Communities in California; will Kamala Harris help? - 04/08/11

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American Civil Liberties Union opposes both 287g and Secure Communities - 11/19/09

The following is from congressional testimony offered by the American Civil Liberties Union (more on them and questions for them at the link) on April 2, 2008 [1]: Recommendations: The ACLU urges that ICE: * Halt entering into future (287g) agreements with states and localities; * Cease recognition and compliance with 287(g) agreements currently in operation. * Halt implementation of the Secure Communities plan which seeks to expand state and local law enforcement powers to enforce federal immigration laws.

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