Thread: Program to deport criminals sweeps up noncriminals in Oregon

Program to deport criminals sweeps up noncriminals in Oregon as well, foes say
Published: Saturday, August 06, 2011, 9:45 PM
By Andrew Joseph, The Oregonian

A federal immigration program meant to target criminals who are in the country illegally and others who pose a threat to public safety deported more than 600 people from Oregon in a little more than one year.

More than half of the people deported were convicted of only minor crimes or no crimes at all, however, sparking criticisms that the program is not performing as advertised.

Of the 624 people deported through the Secure Communities program in the state, 155 of them were convicted of the lowest level of crime, and 175 of them, or 28 percent, were not convicted of any criminal violation, according to data through June 2011.

"It was touted as a way to catch post-conviction bad criminals, but they're sucking up those people who aren't convicted of a crime," said Ashlee Albies, a civil rights attorney with Creighton & Rose in Portland.


Demonstrators hold signs during a rally to condemn an Immigration and Customs Enforcement program known as Secure Communities and ICE's alleged refusal to meet with directly impacted immigrants Friday, July 15, 2011 in New York.

In counties where Secure Communities is active, jails forward the fingerprints of booked suspects to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which checks them against a federal immigration database. If there is a match, local authorities must hold the person for 48 hours so ICE can come take him or her into custody.

Secure Communities, a central component of the Obama administration's immigration policy, is active in eight of Oregon's 36 counties, but has removed people only from Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington, Jackson and Marion counties thus far. The administration plans to roll out the program nationwide by 2013.

Opponents of Secure Communities argue that it turns local law enforcement officers into immigration agents, but an ICE official denied that. The official said Secure Communities is "fundamentally an information-sharing partnership" that enables ICE to prioritize the deportation of illegal immigrants who have criminal histories, who violate immigration laws repeatedly or who threaten public safety.

ICE Director John Morton has also encouraged agents to use discretion and take into account several factors, including history in the United States, pursuit of education or military service and contributions to the community, when deciding what kind of action to take in individual cases.

The proof that Secure Communities works lies in the increase in deportations of violent criminals, supporters said. Between October 2008, when the program was launched in border states, and the middle of 2010, the number of convicted criminals removed from the country soared 71 percent and the number of non-criminal violators removed declined 23 percent, according to ICE.

"They identify people that are criminals," said Jim Ludwick, the communications director of Oregonians for Immigration Reform, a group that advocates for improved border security. "Who in the world would be opposed to that?"

ICE officials say Secure Communities is not meant to target people whose only crime is being in the country illegally. But immigrant groups, particularly Latinos, feel antagonized and as if they are not being included in these communities that are supposedly being made more secure, advocates said.

"The name sounds good, the intention sounds good, but in reality, it's not," said Romeo Sosa, executive director of Voz Workers' Rights Education Project. "I think everyone agrees we want to promote public safety, but this is not the answer."

ICE spotlights cases that show how Secure Communities homes in on criminals. The program, for example, identified a man arrested in Clackamas County in May as a convicted felon with 19 aliases who had previously been arrested 29 times and removed from the country five times.

But anecdotes about people being detained and deported for minor crimes, or no crime at all, fly through immigrant populations. This has generated anxiety and fear of police and deters people from reporting crimes or calling for help during an emergency, opponents of Secure Communities said.

"It's not a massive deportation, but it's a silent deportation," Sosa said. "You can feel the tension in the community."

Although ICE emphasizes Secure Communities' race-neutral policies, opponents said the program gives police a green light to arrest people they suspect of being undocumented on minor charges to check their immigration statuses.

"When you take a group of people and put a label on them and criminalize them, it opens up the door for exploitation," said Eliana Machuca, an organizer with Portland Jobs with Justice, a workers' rights organization.

Such complaints have caught local officials' attention. In an October letter to the Oregon Commission on Hispanic Affairs, Multnomah County commissioners wrote that they too worried that the impressions of Secure Communities might "engender fear or mistrust in our community."

"We are concerned about the chilling effect even the perception of local immigration enforcement can have on the reporting of crime by documented and undocumented peoples in immigrant communities," they wrote.

Multnomah County Sheriff Dan Staton said he had no opinion on the program.

Some, though, say the program is valuable even if it deports people who are not convicted of criminal violations. People who think illegal immigrants, who are guilty of civil violations, should be allowed to stay in the United States have a skewed perception of the law, Ludwick said.

"They have absolutely no respect for our laws," Ludwick said. "In fact, they're in contempt of our laws."

-- Andrew Joseph

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-north ... s_say.html

It might have a bigger impact if we could read it!

There are no non-criminal deportations! Period!

I wonder why their fingerprints were in a database to begin with if they're so innocent.

Originally Posted by Ratbstard

I wonder why their fingerprints were in a database to begin with if they're so innocent.

Exactly! too many "unknowns" running freer then we've ever been!

The "Oregonian" eh?


There are allot of good writers out there with solid American values such as Frosty Woolbridge, John Lillpop.............Even Chuck Norris and Ted Nugent.

However Msm ignores these Patriots and instead spoon feeds the masses whatever is on the agenda for the day.

Yesterday I had to go to get my meds from the store and there was a little table set up out front of the store and the "Oregonian" was hawking subscriptions.

I had a very short conversation with the man and he was telling me what a great paper it is and how I would benefit from a subscription.

He told me that he reads it from front to back every morning.
He was able to tell me all about Mayor Sam Adams little tryst and seemed up to date on David Wu.


He had no idea who Big Sis is and he had never heard of operation "Gunrunner"

He did know that "Operation fast and furious" was something that happened down on the border but he wasn't sure what it was.
No clue as to who Agent Brian Terry or Rancher Robert Krentz were or what happened to them..........(Or why)

His ears woulda prolly started smoking had I inquired as to who Ramos and Compean were?
The bonus question there would been "Who is Johnny Sutton"?

I explained to him that since I no longer fish I had no use for his newspaper or the values it represents.

There were several people that were standing around and as I walked away so did they.

Originally Posted by stevetheroofer

It might have a bigger impact if we could read it!

You read my mind, Steve...LOL! My second thought was if it's in Spanish "deportacion" is exactly what I want to see happen a whole lot more often!!!!

Way to go Waiter!!! The Oregonian has always been a liberal rag! Much like our current paper the Lexington-Herald misLeader!