Secure Communities Program Leads To Community Mistrust Of Law Enforcement And Undermines Public Safety
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Kirsten Bokenkamp, (713) 942-8146 x 109 or (832) 691-7013; [email protected]
At a Secure Communities Task Force hearing on Tuesday, the ACLU of Texas argued that the Secure Communities program (S-Comm) should be abolished immediately because it actually makes communities less safe.
Rebecca Robertson, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy for the ACLU of Texas, told the Task Force, “There is no reform [of S-Comm] that can repair the broken trust between immigrant communities and local law enforcement.”
The Department of Homeland Security Advisory Council’s Task Force on Secure Communities hosted a hearing to develop recommendations about the program for the Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE ).
Robertson also testified that S-Comm is “an ill-conceived program from the start. S-Comm entangles local law enforcement agencies with the enforcement of federal immigration laws, which invariably drives a wedge between our police officers and those they are sworn to serve. When people are afraid to interact with local police for fear of being deported, victims and witnesses of crimes cease cooperating with police, resulting in the whole community being less safe.”
Robertson also pointed out that according to ICE’s own figures, three-quarters of those deported under S-Comm did not meet ICE’s standards as dangerous “aliens” and nearly 25 percent of those deported were never convicted of any crime. “Clearly S-Comm has failed to achieve its stated objective of apprehending and deporting dangerous lawbreakers,” said Robertson.
The Task Force meeting was hosted by Dallas County Sherriff Lupe Valdez. See full text of Rebecca Robertson’s testimony. www.aclutx.org//documents/ReformstoICEsSecureCommunities.pdf
