Immigrant and Civil Liberties Advocates Protest Mass. Participation in DHS Secure Communities Program
BOSTON/State House - Over 100 immigrant and civil liberties advocates held a protest in front of the State House today in opposition to a recent announcement by the Executive Office of Public Safety that Massachusetts will participate in the Department of Homeland Security's Secure Communities program. The controversial program would screen everyone arrested by local and state police to determine their immigration status. Any arrestee found to be in the United States without proper documents would be reported to US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, and face detainment and deportation.
Nancy Murray, director of education at the ACLU of Mass. summarized the activists' concerns in light of her organization's history of supporting the values connected to the Statue of Liberty, "We are here because Secure Communities represents a giant step away from everything the Statue of Liberty stands for. It is a giant step away from the notion of fairness. It is a giant step from the promise of liberty and justice for all. It is a program that mocks our claim to be the Land of the Free. That tears the fabric of our communities and takes us all closer to the precipice of a police state. Now, I don't use that term lightly. But that is where the Department of Homeland Security is taking us as it enlists local police to participate in a secretive nationwide surveillance system of which Secure Communities is one component. We are all in this together - non-citizens and citizens alike - because we are all impacted by this form of 'Robocop' policing by database.
"Under Secure Communities, if you are not a citizen, upon arrest your biometric fingerprints are automatically sent to the FBI and the error-ridden Department of Homeland Security database. And you may be flagged for deportation. The DHS says it's only after serious criminals and yet the majority of people being deported under the pilot program here in Boston have no criminal conviction. If you are a citizen, upon arrest, your biometric fingerprints are also sent to the FBI and DHS databases and stored there. Depending on what other information has been gathered about you in a multitude of other databases that have been created in the name of fighting terrorism, you may then be flagged as a suspicious person who must be closely monitored, who should not be allowed to work in certain jobs, or should be put on a No Fly list. This is the world which Gov. Patrick seems to think is inevitable. We urge him to reconsider and reverse course. We should be building healthy and safe communities in Massachusetts. Not insecure ones where vulnerable people live in fear, police are shunned, and an automated data-sharing process without any oversight, transparency or accountability destroys lives."
The rally dispersed after a few short speeches. There was a light police presence, no incidents and no arrests. Organizers expect to continue to pressure Patrick to stop Mass. participation in the Secure Communities program over the next few weeks.
The event was sponsored by over 20 local organizations, including American Friends Service Committee - Project VOICE, ACLU of Massachusetts, Brazilian Immigrant Center, Boston May Day Committee, Boston New Sanctuary Movement, Cambridge United for Justice with Peace, Centro Presente, Chelsea Collaborative, Chinese Progressive Association, Committee on Refugees from El Salvador, Greater Boston United for Justice with Peace, Immigrant Worker Center Collaborative, Immigration Pastoral Center- Diocese Of Saint Francis of Assisi, Immigration Task Force of First Parish in Cambridge, Jobs With Justice - MA, Massachusetts Global Action, Matahari - Eye of the Day, Metrowest Worker Center, Neighbors United for a Better East Boston, The Network/La Red, Somerville Community Corporation, Student Immigrant Movement, Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations and United for a Fair Economy.
