Traveling about the blogosphere today, I have read more ignorant horse crap than I even knew existed.  Perhaps the worst is that Obama didn’t want to deport anyone so they could vote for him.  This absurdity, of course, overlooks the fact that illegal immigrants are NOT  citizens and therefore cannot vote.  Neither can green card holders.  Neither can legal residents.

My fellow bloggers are also not above attempting to scare their readers either.  What’s in it for them?  At this point, I am not sure.  Perhaps a trip down memory lane or a red circle memorabilia meeting?  Who knows.  Its probably an attempt to stir up more animus against the President also.  I figure those folks weren’t going to vote for him anyway.

At any rate, Secure Communities is an attempt to respond to the Arizona SB 1070 component that still allows probable cause.  In Prince William County, that hasn’t been an issue because all those arrested  were checked for immigration status, regardless of name, race, ethnicity.  Still, Secure Communities targets those illegal immigrants who real criminals–those who have broke serious laws and who put our communities at risk.  It does not target jay walkers.  Jay walkers waste everyone’s time.  No one has been deported for jay walking.

In a nation with many illegal immigrants and a finite number of ICE agents and federal judges, it only makes sense to use our resources wisely.  We want rid of the worst of the worst.  Please note, despite the lies told by some, Elena and I have always supported our 287(g) program.  We don’t want real criminals running around any more than you do.

Meanwhile, get the facts.  Other information may also be obtained from the ICE website.

From the  I.C.E website:.

Secure Communities: Get the Facts

FACT: ICE is focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that prioritizes efforts to identify and  remove criminal aliens and others who pose a potential threat to public safety. Under this administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has prioritized the removal  of aliens who are in the  country illegally who have also broken criminal laws.

 

One important tool that ICE relies upon to advance this priority is Secure Communities, which facilitates ICE’s ability to identify and remove aliens who pose a threat to public safety. Through June 30, 2012, more than 151,000 immigrants convicted of crimes, including more than 55,000 convicted of aggravated felony (level 1) offenses like murder, rape and the sexual abuse of children were removed from the United States after identification through Secure Communities. These removals significantly contributed to a 89 percent increase in the overall percentage of convicted criminals removed by ICE and a 29 percent reduction in the removal of people without a criminal conviction, from October 2008 until the end of fiscal year 2011.

The National Sheriffs’ Association and  Major County Sheriffs’ Association have issued formal statements in support of  Secure Communities.

FACT: Under Secure Communities, state  and local law enforcement officers continue enforcing their state or local law  in the same manner in which they always have.   Under Secure Communities, state and  local law enforcement officers are not deputized, do not enforce immigration  law, and are not tasked with any additional responsibilities. In fact, state and local law enforcement officers are asked to enforce the law in exactly the same manner as they did before the federal information partnership used by Secure Communities was activated in their jurisdiction. With Secure Communities, only federal officers make immigration enforcement decisions, and they do so only after a completely independent decision by state and local law enforcement to arrest an individual for a criminal violation of state law separate and apart from any violations of immigration law.

FACT: Secure Communities was designed  to reduce the potential for racial profiling.   Under Secure Communities, the  fingerprints of every single individual arrested and booked into custody,  including U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents, are checked against  immigration records – reducing the risk of discrimination or racial profiling. ICE  and the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) are implementing additional  procedures to monitor state and local conduct and protect the program from  potential abuses. These safeguards include strengthening protections for  victims of abuse or other crimes; a formal complaint process for those who feel  they have been the targets of ethnic discrimination; an investigative process  involving CRCL with referral to the Department of Justice; and analysis by a  statistician to identify any data irregularities that could indicate misconduct  in particular jurisdictions so that we can immediately initiate corrective  actions.

FACT: Secure Communities is working to  protect witnesses and victims of crimes.   As the federal law enforcement agency charged with enforcing  U.S. immigration laws, ICE works closely with local law enforcement agencies to  ensure victims and witnesses of crimes we deal with are properly identified. The vast majority of jurisdictions do not arrest victims or  witnesses at the scene of a domestic altercation. At the direction of Secretary  of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, ICE, in consultation with CRCL, has  issued a policy addressing possible scenarios where a victim or witness may be  identified in Secure Communities, to ensure appropriate discretion is exercised.

FACT: State and  local jurisdictions cannot opt out of Secure Communities.   Unfortunately, some of ICE’s past public statements led to  confusion about whether state and local jurisdictions can opt out of the program.

Secure Communities imposes no new or additional requirements  on state and local law enforcement. When state and local authorities arrest and  book someone into jail for a criminal offense, they routinely submit  fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The FBI then  automatically shares these fingerprints with ICE to check against immigration  databases. If the fingerprint check reveals that an individual is not a  U.S. citizen, or is removable from the United States because of their criminal  history, ICE takes appropriate 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.

The federal government, not the state or local law enforcement agency, determines what immigration enforcement action, if any, is  appropriate. Only federal officers make immigration 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.

A jurisdiction may choose not to receive the identifications  that result from processing the fingerprints through DHS’s biometric system  that are provided to the local ICE field office. In the past, this option has  been mischaracterized as a mechanism for a jurisdiction to opt out of the  program. In fact, a jurisdiction’s decision not to receive this information  directly does not affect whether the local ICE field office in that jurisdiction  will or will not take enforcement action based on those results.