Secure Communities
By Adel Syed
CAIR-LA Government Relations Coordinator
Anaheim , CA
“I still don’t understand why I was arrested, but had I realized I could be arrested after calling 911 for help and deported, I never would have called.” - Isaura Garcia.
As concerned citizens, it is our duty to speak out when we see abuses around us, from repressive regimes in the Middle East to corruption in our local cities.
Stories like Isaura Garcia’s are unfortunately becoming commonplace in our cities and communities. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a federal agency under the Department of Homeland Security, is now compelling local law enforcement agencies to enforce immigration laws by submitting arrestees’ fingerprints to ICE, through a newly created program called Secure Communities (S-Comm).
Under the S-Comm program, fingerprints taken by local police during an arrest are automatically forwarded to ICE for immigration background checks.
Operating on a ‘guilty until proven innocent’ model, ICE is immediately notified of all arrestees’ immigration backgrounds, regardless of whether the person is innocent or how minimal the criminal charge is.
As a result of S-Comm, victims of domestic violence who have called the police for help have subsequently found themselves arrested for being undocumented and placed in removal proceedings. According to statistics provided by ICE, 5,800 individuals have been incorrectly identified as undocumented since the program was launched. Furthermore, 68% of deportations under S-Comm in California are either non-criminal or low level offenses. California also has the highest number of deportations under S-Comm, some 35,643 compared to Texas in second place at around 24,000 deportations.
Recently announced fixes by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) do not adequately address the continuing civil and human rights abuses caused by S-Comm and are only a band-aid solution to a systemic problem.
S-Comm’s flawed design additionally puts states and local police agencies at the center of a federal responsibility – the enforcement of immigration laws – which is a civil matter, not a criminal matter. The need for comprehensive immigration reform is urgent, but compromising local policing cannot be the price we are asked to pay.
Such methods contribute to an environment of fear of law enforcement and waste of taxpayer dollars. Many law enforcement agencies throughout the State have been working on a community based policing model founded on trust and understanding. S-Comm directly inhibits this critical relationship from moving forward.
That is why Assemblyman Tom Ammiano recently introduced the TRUST (Transparency and Responsibility Using State Tools) ACT, also known as AB 1081. The TRUST Act addresses a lack of transparency with which ICE implemented S-Comm throughout the state. The bill also asks for protections of victims of domestic violence and juveniles, and encourages trust-building between local law enforcement and immigrant communities, among other provisions. More information on the bill, now headed for the State Senate, can be found here.
As residents of one of the first states to sign an agreement with ICE on S-Comm, we must call for a moratorium until flaws in the system are worked out. Through the TRUST Act, California joins Illinois, Washington, and Washington DC in standing up for transparency, public safety and community policing.
We must speak up. Please join me in taking action on S-Comm.
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