ICE to review fingerprints of everyone arrested statewide to check on immigration status
By Mediha Fejzagic DiMartino and Thomas Himes, Staff Writers
Posted: 03/05/2011 07:12:22 AM PST


Jail Administrator Pete Ramirez fingerprints an inmate at the sheriff's Industry Station on Thursday, March 3, 2011.(SGVN/Staff photo by Watchara Phomicinda)

Fingerprints can reveal more than just who robbed the bank.

Linked to all California police agencies, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement now has immediate access to the immigration status of people booked by local law enforcement agencies.

Under the Secure Communities program, the fingerprints of everyone arrested by local police are now sent automatically to an electronic database reviewed by ICE, whose agents go to county jails to pick up immigrants thought to be deportable, including illegal immigrants and legal immigrants who may have committed a crime.

Immigration agents say the network has helped them catch and deport more criminal aliens.

Critics say it forces street cops to do federal dirty work.

"I oppose it because it forces local police to carry out the work, which is really the work of federal government," said Jose Calderon, professor of sociology at Pitzer College in Claremont. "(President Barack) Obama's administration said they only focus on criminals, but a lot of studies have shown that who they are picking up are individuals with minor offenses such as (expired) driver's licenses."

Since Los Angeles County joined the program in August 2009, ICE agents have used it to deport 11,774 immigrants, including 6,587 who were convicted of serious crimes ranging from fraud to drug trafficking and murder.

"The priority is criminals who have been convicted in American courts," Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said. "It's one thing to be an illegal immigrant in the United states looking for work. It's another thing to come to the United States and continually commit crimes and then somehow be outraged when you're deported."

The system works by comparing fingerprints taken at local police stations to federal databases. Those databases identify people who have been previously arrested and immigrants who have applied for U.S. citizenship and immigration services, according to ICE.

If there is a fingerprint match, ICE agents can instantly notify local authorities to detain the person.

Before the program, local law enforcement agencies would contact ICE if they suspected someone was in the country illegally and that person committed a serious crime.

"There's been times when we wanted someone released for numerous reasons and ICE sends a hold," said Pete Ramirez, jail administrator of the sheriff's Industry Station.

San Diego County became the first of 57 counties in the state to join the program in May 2009. Since then, a majority of the 7,107 immigrants deported through the program (4,327) were either non-criminals or previously convicted of a minor offense.

One expert wasn't sure the program was working as intended.

"Where ICE and the local police departments claim (immigrants) qualify for this program because they have a criminal history, the reality is that there are numerous situations where they aren't criminals," said Bill Flores, who retired as assistant sheriff in 2003 after 29 years in the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

Flores said there's no evidence to suggest that the program has contributed to a reduction in crime in his hometown of Escondido. Instead, the program has created a divide between police and the Latino community, Flores said.

"For example, a man was convicted of drunk driving 15 years ago and he's now eligible for deportation because of that," Flores said. "Never mind that he hasn't had an encounter with the police in 15 years. Now ICE in cooperation with the local police department has destroyed the family."

Baca said he has not seen anything to suggest that the program is discouraging immigrants from reporting crimes.

"I don't have any evidence of that happening," Baca said. "In other words, victims of rape, (the family members of) victims of murder, they continue to report crimes whether they're legal or illegal."

The Obama administration considers Secure Communities an important tool in combating illegal immigration.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano asked a senate subcommittee last month for an additional $64 million for the program. That money would help identify an estimated 199,000 more criminal aliens by expanding the program to 96 percent of all jurisdictions, according to the DHS.

But as federal authorities move to expand the program, some state legislators want more local oversight.

Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, introduced a bill Feb. 18 that would force California to reconsider the language of its agreement with ICE. Ammiano wants cities and counties to be able to opt in or opt out, and also wants more statewide protections preventing domestic violence victims and other vulnerable immigrants from being taken into federal custody.

"California was one of the earliest states to sign on to it, but their memorandum is very generic," Ammiano said. "What we've agreed to in California is basically a boilerplate without any protections."

Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, R-Claremont, said he vehemently opposes the bill.

"I'm worried when an entire society and all of the elected officials collaborate to undermine the rule of law," Donnelly said. "I want to make cities like San Francisco a sanctuary for American citizens."

Donnelly said it's not just a matter of immigration, but maintaining public safety.

"If someone has violated the law, and they happen to be caught up in the consequences of it, then that's the choices they made," He said.

The San Jose Mercury News and Inland Valley Daily Bulletin contributed to this report.

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