Secure Communities to Start in SF on Tues
By Jude Joffe-Block on Monday, May 31, 11:47am

Despite Sheriff Michael Hennessey's efforts to opt out, San Francisco will be joining the federal immigration enforcement program, Secure Communities, after all, on Tuesday.

California's Department of Justice already signed an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to allow the agency to review fingerprints collected in county jails to determine if those booked are in the country illegally. But it remains unclear whether an individual county can choose not to participate in the program once the state has made an agreement with ICE.

Last Tuesday, state Attorney General Jerry Brown weighed in and turned down a request Hennessey had made to block ICE from reviewing fingerprints from San Francisco's jail. In a letter, Brown wrote to Hennessey: “Because I think this program serves both public safety and the interest of justice, I am declining your request.â€