MA. Sheriff welcomes ICE, local officers sharing crime info

Sheriff welcomes ICE, local officers sharing crime info

By O’Ryan Johnson
Tuesday, May 15, 2012 - Updated 5 hours ago


The federal program known as Secure Communities will begin today across the state, which backers say will slow crime by identifying illegal immigrant offenders with greater ease and targeting them for deportation.

The program uses existing technology to share fingerprints that cops take when booking a prisoner with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The prints are already shared with the FBI. Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson said he believes the new system will prevent crimes by targeting illegals who break the law.

“Its not just about the information sharing” between the feds, Hodgeson said. “This will afford us additional information we’re not getting now. This will be an additional tool to help us get criminals off the streets.”



He said law enforcement will have access to a larger pool of information that immigration officials keep on tap, which includes items such as aliases that the person may have used with immigration authorities in the past. That information could be used to help current criminal investigations, he said.

ICE will use the information provided by police to select who gets deported based on the severity of the crime, criminal history and number of immigration violations.

Bay State Gov. Deval Patrick held out against Secure Communities for fears that it would lead to racial profiling by police and only target lower level offenders. The feds notified police and sheriffs by email last week that beginning today Massachusetts would come on line.

-— oryan.johnson@bostonherald.com

Sheriff welcomes ICE, local officers sharing crime info - BostonHerald.com