Sheriffs want ‘secure’ effort for state ASAP

Sheriffs want ‘secure’ effort for state ASAP

By Craig S. Semon TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

While all states will be required to begin the Secure Communities program by 2013, some officials think 2013 is two years too late and are pushing for the program — or at least aspects of the federal information-sharing network — to be implemented now.

Under Secure Communities, the Federal Bureau of Investigation automatically sends fingerprints to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to check against its immigration databases.

If these checks reveal that an individual is unlawfully present in the United States, or otherwise removable because of a criminal conviction, ICE takes enforcement action — prioritizing the removal of those who present the most significant threats to public safety as well as those who have repeatedly violated immigration laws.

Although the program is used in Boston, Gov. Deval L. Patrick has said the commonwealth would not participate because the program is not focused enough on deporting only criminals and could hamper local law enforcement efforts.

But Worcester County Sheriff Lewis G. Evangelidis, Bristol County Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson and Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph D. McDonald, Jr. met with ICE representatives Thursday in Washington, D.C., to discuss how they can become part of the Secure Communities program and implement the program’s tools in their respective counties.

“It has been reported, but we got absolute confirmation that they are looking to roll out Secure Communities across the country in every state within the next two years,â€

[quote][b]“Under Secure Communities and presently, every fingerprint rolled, whether it’s an American citizen, whether the person’s Caucasian, black, Latino, Asian, female, male, every print goes and goes down through the computer. So how can you profile if everybody is being treated the same?â€