Thread: 'Secure Communities' measure rolls out in Vermont Tuesday

Divisive 'Secure Communities' measure rolls out in Vt. Tuesday

May 21, 2012 7:48pm

(NECN: Jack Thurston, Burlington, Vt.) - A top federal law enforcement official confirmed for New England Cable News Monday that the Vermont rollout of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's information-sharing program known as Secure Communities will happen Tuesday.

It is already operational in most of the country, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, official told NECN.

At the Burlington, Vt. offices of the advocacy group Migrant Justice, Danilo Lopez worried about the measure's implementation. "Many more people will be deported because of this program," Lopez predicted.

ICE insists Secure Communities will be a helpful tool to share fingerprint records between the FBI and Homeland Security, targeting threats to public safety from people who are in this country unlawfully. A fingerprint gathered during an investigation of a minor crime may reveal a more serious history of offenses, the ICE official said.

"The problem is the program is not very clear in its implementation," Lopez said. "And I don't think even the federal government understands the results that it's having."

Lopez fears the rollout will lead to discrimination against members of his community and undeserved detention by law enforcement. Lopez drew statewide headlines after he was detained following a minor traffic stop last fall. He said he was targeted because of his immigration status. ICE said Monday concerns over uneven treatment were unfounded, and that the focus of investigators will be on significant threats.

Lopez came to Vermont from Mexico five years ago to work on a dairy farm without government permission. Migrant Justice estimated there are between 1,500 and 2,000 undocumented workers milking the cows on Vermont dairy farms every day. The ICE spokesman said nationwide, there are an estimated 11.2-million people who entered the United States without going through the proper legal channels.

While advocates for the undocumented Vermont farm workers have successfully pushed for reviews of bias-free police policies in Vermont, the federal Secure Communities program has them convinced deportations will spike, even of people who are not serious criminals. Homeland Security countered that. The ICE spokesman said not everyone whose information is put into the fingerprint database through Secure Communities will be subject to mandatory detention or removal from the country. The spokesman added that all of the cases will be reviewed individually, with an eye on the most serious of offenses.

"We need a major change in immigration laws," Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., told New England Cable News Monday.

In Leahy's view, Congress has taken way too long to seriously address immigration reform. One small measure that would help Vermont, he said, would be allowing dairy workers to get visas allowing them to legally stay year-round. Temporary guest worker programs exist for other agriculture sectors, but not milk, he explained. "You can't say, well you can get someone in to milk the cows three months a year or four months a year and leave, come back again a year later," Leahy said. "It just doesn't work that way."

Danilo Lopez and supporters of Vermont's undocumented farm workers vowed to continue pressing the state and federal government to offer more protections in this new era of Secure Communities. They have a protest planned for Tuesday, May 22, outside the Burlington headquarters of President Obama's Vermont campaign headquarters. That event is scheduled for 5 p.m.

Divisive 'Secure Communities' measure rolls out in Vt. Tuesday

Vt. now part of fed's 'Secure Communities' program that seeks criminal illegal aliens

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First Posted: May 22, 2012 - 11:43 am
Last Updated: May 22, 2012 - 11:43 am

MONTPELIER, Vt. — The state of Vermont is now a part of a federal program aimed at identifying illegal immigrants arrested and charged with crimes.

The Department of Homeland Security says its Secure Communities program went into effect Tuesday in Vermont.

The program shares the fingerprints of illegal immigrants charged with crimes with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.

Homeland Security says that since Secure Communities began in 2008, more than 135,000 illegal immigrants with criminal records have been deported after being identified by the program.

Advocates for Vermont immigrants say the program was implemented in the state without consulting state officials.

Natalia Fajardo (FAH'-har-dough), an organizer at the group Migrant Justice, says the program will break the trust that has been built up in Vermont between immigrants and the police.

Vt. now part of fed's 'Secure Communities' program that seeks criminal illegal aliens | The Republic

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Advocates for Vermont immigrants say the program was implemented in the state without consulting state officials.

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How dare they try and take Mexican criminal thugs off the street without first consulting LaRaza, Mecha, Janet Napolitano and Eric Holder. The NERVE!