States balk at illegals program

Democratic areas rebel


**FILE** Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) UPI/Kevin Dietsch

By Stephen Dinan
The Washington Times
8:53 p.m., Monday, June 6, 2011
32 Comments

Massachusetts announced Monday that it will refuse to join the federal government’s Secure Communities initiative, becoming the latest state to balk at the Obama administration’s key anti-illegal immigration program designed to target gang members and violent felons for deportation.

Following on the heels of Illinois and New York, which this year said they would try to opt out of the program, the move signals growing discontent from usually reliable Democratic territory over President Obama’s immigration policy, which is now drawing fire from both sides of the aisle.

“The governor and I are dubious of the commonwealth taking on the federal role of immigration enforcement,â€