Secure Communities SECOMM GESTAPO
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In order to stop the California TRUST Act which had gained widespread support, Immigration Customs Enforcement's Director John Morton went as far as to blackmail the Governor of California into vetoing the TRUST Act. When advocates asked the governors office why Brown vetoed the bill, the staff responded that they had received a call from John Morton Director of ICE saying that if Brown doesn't veto the TRUST Act that California would essentially go back to the old days in reference to immigration raids and more overt enforcement. California would have been the first state in which the impact of "Secure Communities" would be significantly reduced by not honoring immigration detainers.
Jonathan Perez: ICE Director John Morton Kills The TRUST Act.
LA Won't Comply With Secure Communities: The California Report | The California Report
« Full episode for Wed, Dec 12, 2012 Download audio (MP3) After Attorney General Kamala Harris announced that compliance with the federal Secure Communities policy is optional in California, law enforcement officials with mixed feelings about the program are wasting no time pulling back from it. On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Police Commission voted unanimously to stop handing people accused of low-level misdemeanors over to federal authorities. Reporter: Amy Isackson
The Administration Deports Record Number of Illegal Immigrants
The Obama administration deported a record number of illegal immigrants for the fourth year in a row, according to the numbers released by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE). In fiscal year 2012, 409,849 people were removed from the country. That’s 13,000 more compared to the previous year.
As the election draws near, candidates are going head to head to fight for the Latino vote. While Obama retains 73 percent of Latino registered voters, Republican campaign materials have tried to highlight his weak stance on immigration, citing his inaction on immigration reform and rising deportation numbers. While the number of deportations have in fact risen , we have to think about this more thoroughly.
Laura E. Enriquez: Deportations and Immigration Enforcement: It's Not All Obama's Fault
A watchdog group that has been tracking records from Immigration and Customs Enforcement has filed suit after being turned down for more than two years in an attempt to gain access to information about detention of immigrants. The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse filed suit this week under the Freedom on Information Act requesting that ICE turn over complete records for hundreds of immigration detention centers across the country. The material sought by TRAC includes every date and outcome of every internal investigation of the detention facilities that are administered by ICE. TRAC, with representation by the Public Citizen Litigation Group, is also seeking the names and types of facilities, the contracts with private prison providers, the daily rates charged, and the breakdown in adults, juveniles and family units in each facility.
ICE sued for not turning over detention records
Immigration-rights advocates are criticizing Gov. Jerry Brown for signing what they called a hollow, symbolic bill while vetoing one of the most closely watched pieces of immigration legislation in the country. The bill that Brown signed, which lets some young immigrants have driver's licenses, allows nothing beyond what is permitted under a new federal program granting a two-year reprieve from deportation. But the bill that the governor vetoed -- the so-called Trust Act -- would have barred local law enforcement officials from cooperating with federal authorities in detaining suspected illegal immigrants, except in the cases of serious or violent crime. "Gov. Brown waited until the eleventh hour to veto the most ... impactful bill that would bring tremendous relief for the immigrant community," said Carlos Amador of Dream Team Los Angeles.
Immigration-rights advocates criticize Gov. Brown's veto of Trust Act
Op-Ed: Pass the TRUST Act and Restore Faith in Police
By JONATHAN BIBRIESCA, Orange County Dream Team Sept. 28, 2012 When we're young, teachers instruct us that police are there for us if we ever face serious problems. Our civics classes teach us that they're sworn to protect and serve.
Co-authored by Bishop Marc Andrus, Rabbi Sharon Brous and Bishop Mark W. Holmerud Every week, in diverse congregations across California, pastors face a painful task: consoling the children and relatives of aspiring citizens who have been ripped away from their families by deportation.
Michael Weiler, S.J.: California's TRUST Act Would Advance Social Justice, Uphold Core Religious Ideals
TRUST Act Vetoed: California Gov. Jerry Brown Calls Limits On Immigration Enforcement 'Flawed'
WASHINGTON -- California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill late Sunday to make California the "anti-Arizona" on immigration enforcement, after a long fight that took the bill into the national spotlight as a possible rebuke to a program the Obama administration has made key to its effort to remove undocumented immigrants. Brown did not announce his decision on the bill until close to midnight, Pacific time, as part of a spate of bills -- including one he did sign to allow driver licenses for some young undocumented immigrants -- that Brown needed to address before the end of September. Even a few hours before, advocates weren't sure which way it would go, but in the end Brown ruled it "fatally flawed." The TRUST Act, which was originally introduced by state Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, would have limited the state's law enforcement's interactions with federal immigration enforcement efforts.
U.S. Citizen Sues FBI for Labeling Him 'Deportable' Under S-Comm
U.S. Citizen Sues FBI for Labeling Him 'Deportable' Under S-Comm La Opinión , News Report, Posted: Jul 10, 2012 An editorial in La Opinión makes the case against the national fingerprint program Secure Communities. Mistakenly labeling a U.S. citizen as "deportable" because of flaws in the database is just the beginning, editors write.Today in America, one in four Latino voters knows someone in deportation proceedings. The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court don’t care.
Disruption, Rebellion and Resistance: Activists Call for Action
Strongly Worded Letters Former Comptroller and current mayoral candidate Bill Thompson wrote a letter to President Barack Obama today asking him not to implement the controversial Secure Communities fingerprinting program in New York. The program involves checking fingerprints of people arrested by local or state police in a Department of Homeland Security database that contains immigration records. If an offender is found to be an illegal immigrant police contact Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which can request for the person to be detained up to 48 hours and taken by federal agents. “I am writing to ask you to respect the objections of New York State leaders and reverse the position taken by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials to fully implement the Secure Communities program in New York,” Mr.
Secure Communities
<a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wn.loc.kkco/home;tile=10;wnsz=10;sz=160x600;ord=8675309" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wn.loc.kkco/home;tile=10;wnsz=10;sz=160x600;ord=8675309" width="180" height="60" border="0" alt=""></a> DENVER (AP) -- A program that automatically checks the immigration status of all jail inmates in Colorado quietly went into effect this week, following years of opposition that it could lead to deportation for otherwise minor offenses. The Department of Homeland Security's "Secure Communities" program took effect Tuesday across all 64 Colorado counties. Under the program, fingerprints collected from all inmates at the time of booking are now checked against a federal immigration database.
Immigration fingerprint program now statewide
In a letter sent today, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio urged the federal government to halt the expansion of its “Secure Communities” program to New York City, warning of the risks it poses to public safety. Read the full letter: May 12, 2012 Eric Holder United States Attorney General U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530-0001
De Blasio to Dept of Justice: "Secure Communities" will make NYC Less Secure | NYC Public Advocate
The announcement came just in time for Mother’s Day: Secure Communities, the arbitrary and despised Department of Homeland Security program that requires states to identify immigrants for deportation, is expected to be activated across New York State, including in New York City, on Tuesday. In a brave gesture Gov. Cuomo, nearly a year ago, unsuccessfully tried to remove the state from the deportation program that is also strongly opposed by law enforcement officials and domestic violence groups across the country. These groups correctly believe Secure Communities undermines public safety by compromising the trust between police and the communities they serve, in addition to encouraging racial profiling, separating families and even deports U.S. citizens.