Why Gov. Patrick Should Say NO to “Secure Communities”

The misleadingly named “Secure Communities” is a secretive deportation program launched in 2008 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Under this deeply flawed initiative, the biometric fingerprints of everyone who is arrested – not convicted - for any offense whatsoever are automatically matched against FBI and ICE databases. ICE then decides who should be detained and deported.

The government says that the program makes communities more “secure” by deporting violent criminals. But in fact, only a small percentage of those detained under the program have committed serious offenses. Most are minor offenders, or have committed no crimes at all but have problems with their immigration status.

In Boston, which is currently the only Massachusetts jurisdiction to participate in the program, 54 percent of those who have been deported under S-Comm are classified by ICE as “non criminals.” A further 15 percent have committed only minor offenses, like driving without a license.

Instead of creating secure communities, the ICE program is making neighborhoods feel more insecure and undermining basic democratic values. With virtually no government oversight or public accountability, S-Comm is an open invitation for racial profiling, giving local law enforcement an incentive to arrest people who look or sound “foreign” even if there is no lawful basis for arresting them.

People who are mistakenly arrested, such as domestic violence victims, are swept up in the program – even if they are never charged with or convicted of any crime. S-Comm is driving a wedge between immigrant communities and local law enforcement, causing people to avoid turning to the police for help for fear of detention and deportation. Everyone’s safety is threatened when people are afraid to come forward to report crimes committed against them, their families or members of the community.

The good news is that across the country, there are signs of a growing revolt against S-Comm. Some Members of Congress are demanding an investigation into the program, some cities, counties and state legislatures are asserting a right to “opt out” of S-Comm and Governor Quinn of Illinois has terminated his state’s Memorandum of Agreement with ICE on the grounds that S-Comm is deporting more innocent people than serious criminals.

All eyes are now on Massachusetts, which is one of only eight states that has not yet signed onto S-Comm. We, along with groups and organizations across the Commonwealth, are urging Governor Patrick to decline to sign onto a program that will make Massachusetts’ communities more vulnerable and less safe.

If an organization that you work with would like to sign the letter we will be sending to the Governor (you can read it under “Take Action” on http://aclum.org/s-comm), please send your endorsement to nancy@aclum.org or telephone 617 482 3170 x 314.

Let’s together call on the Governor to make Massachusetts an S-Comm-free zone!

Nancy Murray is the education director of ACLU of Massachusetts.