October 05, 2011

Takoma Park’s sanctuary policy threatened by Secure Communities law

Federal immigration enforcement program expected to start in county next year might jeopardize city’s immigration law

by Aaron Kraut, Staff Writer

Takoma Park officials say the city’s decades-old illegal immigrant sanctuary law has helped build trust between non-U.S. citizens and the police, which in turn has made the city a safer place.

But next year, when Montgomery County is expected to start enforcing the federal Secure Communities program, Takoma Park’s sanctuary city policy won’t carry as much weight.

Secure Communities is a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement program in which police check the fingerprints of anyone brought to a county jail against an FBI and ICE database. Those confirmed as illegal immigrants are turned over to ICE and can be deported.

Takoma Park, which, under its 1985 sanctuary city law, forbids its police and municipal employees from enforcing federal immigration laws, does not have its own detention facility.

The city transports its prisoners to the Montgomery County Detention Center in Rockville. At that point, Takoma Park residents would be subject to Secure Communities.

“What the county does is out of our hands,â€