Marlborough councilor wants city to join Secure Communities

By Paul Crocetti/Daily News staff
The MetroWest Daily News
Posted Jul 11, 2011 @ 12:00 AM

MARLBOROUGH — A city councilor is taking his initiative to track and deport violent illegal immigrants to Beacon Hill this week.

Councilor Matt Elder wants Marlborough to take part in a federal program, called Secure Communities, in which the fingerprints of people who are arrested are shared with federal immigration authorities.

Immigrants here illegally who have been charged or convicted of violent and other serious crimes would be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation.

Elder's proposal is on hold because councilors have received different reports about whether or not the city can opt in to the program.

"We're still trying to figure out what can and can't happen," Elder said.

Police Chief Mark Leonard, who supports the act on its face, said he learned from ICE that individual cities and towns can't opt in to the program since Gov. Deval Patrick chose not to sign a memorandum of understanding accepting the act. Signing the agreement would have put all Massachusetts cities and towns into the program.

Critics say the measure encourages racial profiling and would discourage immigrants who are the victims of crime from reporting it to police.

The Greater Boston Tea Party has been advocating for the act's full implementation and reached out to Elder to speak about his proposal.

"We are proponents of Secure Communities based on public safety," said Christen Varley, a Holliston resident and president of the Greater Boston Tea Party. "There's no reason to stand in the way of municipalities."

Elder will speak Wednesday at the State House at a lobbying day of the Greater Boston Tea Party and Empower Massachusetts, a conservative activist group for limited government.

Elder said he initially heard from ICE that the city could apply to join the program. The program targets violent, dangerous illegal immigrants who have already been arrested, Elder said.

"We seem to be getting conflicting information," said state Rep. Steven Levy, R-Marlborough.

Participants in the lobbying day are expected to hear several speakers and then try to talk to state representatives and senators about their issues. State Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Pembroke, is scheduled to speak about the economic impact of illegal immigrants, Varley said.

Levy, a city councilor who supports Elder's proposal, said he plans to meet with the groups.

Elder said he hopes the state will pass a measure that would allow Marlborough to join the federal program.

In a letter to the federal Department of Homeland Security, state Public Safety Secretary Mary Beth Heffernan said enforcing federal immigration regulations should be left to federal agencies.

While there are more than 1,300 Secure Communities today, ICE is on track to expand the program everywhere nationwide by 2013, said spokesman Chuck Jackson.

Elder said he appreciates the push to expand but is hesitant to believe it will happen by 2013.

The City Council last month referred discussion of Elder's proposal to the Operations and Oversight Committee.

(Paul Crocetti can be reached at 508-490-7453 or pcrocetti@wickedlocal.com.)

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