The information-sharing capability, crucial component of the federal government comprehensive strategy to locate and remove convicted criminal aliens, is now linked to all California police agencies with the purpose to identify undocumented and documented aliens, who have been arrested.
The implemented system will alert ICE with biometrics-fingerprints when potentially removable aliens are booked into local jails, so they can have access to all of the state's county prisons to take jurisdiction over immigrants charged with crimes.
The measure heavily criticized for having local law enforcement ‘technically’ turn into a branch of the federal immigration agency, has helped in deporting 23,712 immigrants from California since 2009, when San Diego County was the first jurisdiction to join the program in the state. Those deported included more than 10,000 who had been convicted for serious or violent criminal offenses.
Many local law enforcement leaders are among those who strongly oppose the program arguing the deviation of resources and that it erodes the relationship between their agencies and the community.
Also, immigrant rights advocates state dangerous criminals are a minority within those identified through Secure Communities and that 27 percent of the Californians taken into custody by ICE through such program have no criminal records but still, some were made subject to deportation for minor violations, including traffic infractions.
O their part, ICE says the program targets as a priority, immigrants who have committed serious crimes; although have clarified that it does not exclude those with no criminal record that overstayed a visa or re-entered the country after being deported.
Gov. Jerry Brown is a supporter of Secure Communities, and as state attorney general ratified the agreement with the federal government. Alpine, Del Norte, Lassen, Sierra, Siskiyou and Trinity were the last six northern California counties to join the program earlier this week.
ICE plans to activate Secure Communities nationwide by 2013.
---
Autor(en)/Author(s): Aurelia Fierros
Quelle/Source: Examiner, 26.02.2011
Bitte besuchen Sie/Please visit:
