Thread: Alabama I.C.E. Secure Communities UPDATE

Alabama joining federal program to deport illegal immigrants with criminal records

Published: Monday, April 25, 2011, 6:00 AM
By Mary Orndorff -- The Birmingham News

WASHINGTON -- Alabama is the last state in the South to begin using a federal program for locating and possibly deporting illegal immigrants with criminal records.

Thirteen Alabama counties will begin participating in the Secure Communities system Tuesday, while most states have had some or all of their counties on board for up to two years.

The program, run by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, allows county jailers to share the fingerprints of people booked into jail with federal immigration enforcement officials. If the federal agencies find a match of someone without legal status and a history of crime, especially violence, they'll be targeted for deportation.

Since October 2008, ICE has enlisted 1,211 jurisdictions in 41 states in Secure Communities, with the intent of making it nationwide by 2013. The agency said it has led to the removal of 72,000 criminal aliens, more than 26,000 of them with a history of violence.

"Alabama is going to get on board," said Spencer Collier, director of Alabama's Department of Homeland Security. "We want to be proactive on this."

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security first approached Alabama about Secure Communities last year, but the Alabama Department of Public Safety asked that it be delayed until the state finished upgrading its fingerprint identification system, according to DPS spokesman Sgt. Steve Jarrett.

As of March 23, 35 sheriff's departments in the state were transmitting electronic fingerprint information, but more are expected to add that capability in the near future, Jarrett said.

The 13 counties starting the program this week are: Blount, Etowah, Limestone, Marshall, Morgan, Elmore, Lee, Chilton, Autauga, Tallapoosa, Escambia, Mobile and Baldwin.

Ten counties each in Georgia and Mississippi are participating, as well as 77 of 100 counties in North Carolina and all counties in Florida.

Tennessee, Arkansas and South Carolina, which first started activating counties last year, have 21 counties, 11 counties and 13 counties, receptively, now participating.

"Secure Communities enhances public safety by enabling ICE to identify and remove criminal aliens more efficiently and effectively from the United States," Secure Communities Acting Assistant Director Marc Rapp said last week when some counties in Missouri were added. "As we expand ICE's use of biometric information sharing nationwide, we are helping to keep communities safe and ensuring the integrity of our immigration system."

The program is not without controversy. Some parts of the country are resisting, saying they don't want their local law enforcement agencies to be perceived as enforcing immigration laws, which deters cooperation from immigrant communities. Immigrant advocacy groups also challenge whether ICE is adhering to its policy of targeting violent offenders first, or instead using Secure Communities as an indiscriminate dragnet to round up noncriminals, as well. ICE's own statistics show some of those deported so far did not have serious criminal histories beyond their immigration status.

"If I'm convicted of a crime in Alabama, someone who was a witness should feel confident to come forward, but what Secure Communities does is the opposite," said B. Loewe, spokesman for the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. "It drives people into the shadows and makes crime go unreported."

Collier said Secure Communities is a simple information-sharing tool that doesn't require local police or sheriffs to enforce immigration laws or determine who is in the country without permission.

"ICE has total autonomy over that," Collier said. "They make that decision on who to deport, based on the severity of their crimes and their record."

The program only applies to people already under arrest, and does not authorize local officials to target suspects solely to check their immigration status. Under Secure Communities, the fingerprints that are taken at the jail and already routinely shared with federal criminal databases are automatically forwarded to federal immigration databases. Local officials say they don't expect it to require any additional training.

Collier, appointed earlier this year by Gov. Robert Bentley, said Alabama and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security started serious talks just recently about setting up Secure Communities in the state, and he did not know why it was not done earlier. States along the Mexican border and large urban areas are among the first parts of the country to sign up for Secure Communities.

Shelby County Sheriff Chris Curry said Friday that Shelby County expects to be in the second round of Alabama counties to be up and running later this year. He said the county only recently learned of the program, and he doesn't expect to incur any additional costs because the county already shares fingerprint data with other federal agencies.

"There should be no cost to push a button," Curry said.Â

I think if any area of the country is going to fight against the invasion, it will be the southeast, especially the deep south. Unfortunately, I think that is the area the invaders started invading last. But hopefully the southeastern states will reverse the tide. Maybe once they do, I'll move there.

ICE's Secure Communities program begins

By Lisa Rogers
Times Staff Writer

Published: Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 8:42 p.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 8:43 p.m.

Etowah is one of 13 counties in Alabama that on Tuesday began participating in the U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s Secure Communities system that targets illegal immigrants.

The program in Etowah County is run by employees at the jail and is a way to share fingerprints of people booked in at the jail, said Scott Hassell, chief deputy of detention at the Etowah County jail.

Hassell said fingerprints are scanned, the results are sent to the FBI and the Alabama Bureau of Investigation and the information is shared.

He said the program will only identify someone who already has been determined to be in the United States illegally.

“Someone who is here illegally, but has never been in trouble before, will not show up in this system,â€

As of 5/24/2011 AL. has 25 of 67 counties activated as I.C.E. secure Communities.
(10 new this week.)

I.C.E. News Release

May 24, 2011
Birmingham, AL

10 additional Alabama counties to benefit from ICE program to enhance identification and removal of aliens convicted of a crime

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Tuesday began using a federal information sharing capability as part of the Secure Communities program in 10 Alabama counties to help federal immigration officials identify criminal aliens in state prisons and local jails by running their fingerprints against federal immigration databases when they are booked into the system. Those counties are: Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Colbert, Coosa, Cullman, Franklin, Jackson, Shelby, and Talladega.

"Secure Communities enhances public safety by enabling ICE to identify and remove criminal aliens more efficiently and effectively from the United States," said Secure Communities Acting Assistant Director Marc Rapp. "As we expand ICE's use of biometric information sharing nationwide, we are helping to keep communities safe and ensuring the integrity of our immigration system."

With the expansion of the use of biometric information sharing to these three counties, ICE is using this capability in 25 Alabama jurisdictions. Across the country, ICE is using this capability in 1,315 jurisdictions in 42 states. Since ICE began using this enhanced information sharing capability in October 2008 through April 30, 2011, ICE has removed more than 77,000 criminal aliens including more than 28,000 level 1 offenders convicted of aggravated felonies like murder, rape and the sexual abuse of children.

ICE continues to work with its law enforcement partners across the country to responsibly and effectively implement this federal information sharing capability and plans to reach complete nationwide deployment by 2013.

Prior to the implementation of Secure Communities, fingerprints taken of individuals charged with a crime and booked into state or local custody were checked for criminal history information against the Department of Justice's (DOJ) criminal history records. Once it is activated in a jurisdiction, the fingerprints that jurisdiction submits to DOJ's biometric system to check for criminal history records are also automatically sent to DHS' biometric system to check against its immigration law enforcement records. When a match is discovered, ICE evaluates the specific case to determine the individual's immigration status and takes appropriate enforcement action. ICE prioritizes removing criminal aliens convicted of the most serious crimes such as major drug offenses, murder, rape and kidnapping. ICE also gives high priority to other threats to public safety, such as aliens with known gang affiliations, drunk driving arrests, or fugitives, or those who frequently try to game the immigration system.

The biometric systems are maintained by DHS's US-VISIT program and the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS).

"US-VISIT is proud to support ICE by providing comprehensive, reliable information to assist in the smart and effective enforcement of our immigration laws," said US-VISIT Director Robert Mocny. "By enhancing the interoperability of DHS's and the FBI's biometric systems, we are helping federal, state and local government better protect our communities and our nation."

"Under this federal information-sharing initiative, ICE will be utilizing FBI system enhancements that allow improved information sharing at the state and local law enforcement level based on positive identification of incarcerated criminal aliens," said Daniel D. Roberts, assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division. "Additionally, ICE and the FBI are working together to take advantage of the strong relationships already forged between the FBI and state and local law enforcement necessary to assist ICE in achieving its goals."

For more information about Secure Communities, visit www.ice.gov/secure_communities/ .

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security.

ICE is a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities. For more information, visit www.ICE.gov . To report suspicious activity, call 1-866-347-2423.

U.S. Dept of Homeland Security

http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1105/1 ... ingham.htm

Hate to tell you this--I live in Georgia--the illegal immigration population is higher in GA than in AZ.

We did , however just pass HB 87-- a verification enforcement law.

Originally Posted by misterbill

Hate to tell you this--I live in Georgia--the illegal immigration population is higher in GA than in AZ.

We did , however just pass HB 87-- a verification enforcement law.

GA. Counties join I.C.E. Secure Communities
(30 Counties enrolled.)

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-227941.html

As of 6/14/2011 AL. now has 30 of 67 jurisdictions activated as I.C.E. Secure Communities.

www.ice.gov/

I.C.E. News Release

June 7, 2011
Birmingham, AL

5 additional Alabama counties to benefit from ICE program to enhance identification and removal of aliens convicted of a crime

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Tuesday began using a federal information sharing capability as part of the Secure Communities program in 5 Alabama counties to help federal immigration officials identify criminal aliens in state prisons and local jails by running their fingerprints against federal immigration databases when they are booked into the system. Those counties are: Lamar, Lawrence, Marengo, Marion and Monroe.

"Secure Communities enhances public safety by enabling ICE to identify and remove criminal aliens more efficiently and effectively from the United States," said Secure Communities Acting Assistant Director Marc Rapp. "As we expand ICE's use of biometric information sharing nationwide, we are helping to keep communities safe and ensuring the integrity of our immigration system."

With the expansion of the use of biometric information sharing to these five counties, ICE is using this capability in 30 Alabama jurisdictions. Across the country, ICE is using this capability in 1400 jurisdictions in 43 states and territories. Since ICE began using this enhanced information sharing capability in October 2008 through April 30, 2011, ICE has removed more than 77,000 criminal aliens including more than 28,000 level 1 offenders convicted of aggravated felonies like murder, rape and the sexual abuse of children.

ICE continues to work with its law enforcement partners across the country to responsibly and effectively implement this federal information sharing capability and plans to reach complete nationwide deployment by 2013.

Prior to the implementation of Secure Communities, fingerprints taken of individuals charged with a crime and booked into state or local custody were checked for criminal history information against the Department of Justice's (DOJ) criminal history records. Once it is activated in a jurisdiction, the fingerprints that jurisdiction submits to DOJ's biometric system to check for criminal history records are also automatically sent to DHS' biometric system to check against its immigration law enforcement records. When a match is discovered, ICE evaluates the specific case to determine the individual's immigration status and takes appropriate enforcement action. ICE prioritizes removing criminal aliens convicted of the most serious crimes such as major drug offenses, murder, rape and kidnapping. ICE also gives high priority to other threats to public safety, such as aliens with known gang affiliations, drunk driving arrests, or fugitives, or those who frequently try to game the immigration system.

The biometric systems are maintained by DHS's US-VISIT program and the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS).

"US-VISIT is proud to support ICE by providing comprehensive, reliable information to assist in the smart and effective enforcement of our immigration laws," said US-VISIT Director Robert Mocny. "By enhancing the interoperability of DHS's and the FBI's biometric systems, we are helping federal, state and local government better protect our communities and our nation."

"Under this federal information-sharing initiative, ICE will be utilizing FBI system enhancements that allow improved information sharing at the state and local law enforcement level based on positive identification of incarcerated criminal aliens," said Daniel D. Roberts, assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division. "Additionally, ICE and the FBI are working together to take advantage of the strong relationships already forged between the FBI and state and local law enforcement necessary to assist ICE in achieving its goals."

For more information about Secure Communities, visit www.ice.gov/secure_communities .

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security.

ICE is a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities. For more information, visit www.ICE.gov . To report suspicious activity, call 1-866-347-2423.

U.S. Dept of Homeland Security

http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1106/1 ... ingham.htm

1 new Secure Community in Alabama this week. (Better than none.)