Secure Communities Decision Irks Immigration Reform Advocates

Immigration reform activists have long protested Secure Communities, a federal program that requires state law enforcement officials to share the fingerprints of those they arrest with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). But after the Obama administration made clear this month that the program will be mandatory, many immigration activists are holding the president directly responsible. A network of reform advocates called a “National Action Day” in 16 cities Tuesday to demand an end to Secure Communities. In his hometown of Chicago, protesters planned a rally in front of Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign office.

Secure Communities has driven a wedge between Obama and immigration reform advocates, threatening to alienate Latino voters as the 2012 election approaches—and as Obama’s overall approval rating tumbles to 39 percent. ICE began implementing Secure Communities in 2008 with the goal of facilitating the removal of felons and violent criminals. Instead, the program led to the deportation of primarily minor offenders and law-abiding people. Over the three years since the program was established, 55 percent of those snared into deportation proceedings either committed misdemeanors or were never convicted of any crime, The Los Angeles Times reports, citing ICE data. The violent criminals ICE seeks to prioritize for removal constitute only 30 percent of those deported.

Those figures have fueled protests from Hispanic groups and immigration reform advocates who say that Secure Communities undermines trust between local law enforcement and immigrant communities. Some law enforcement officials have also criticized the program. “Criminals are the biggest benefactors when immigrants fear the police,” former Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton wrote in the August 16 report Restoring Community, prepared by a commission of immigration reform advocacy organizations. “We can’t solve crimes that aren’t reported because the victims are afraid to come forward to the police.” Beginning in May, the governors of Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts backed out of Secure Communities over concerns about its application. The Obama administration responded on August 5 by saying memoranda of agreement signed with state governments were unnecessary to impose the program unilaterally. The Department of Homeland Security says it will activate the program in all local jurisdictions by 2013.

The administration’s backing of Secure Communities is symbolic of immigration policy during Obama’s tenure. The president has voiced support for comprehensive immigration reform and the DREAM Act—legislation that would give some undocumented youth a path to citizenship if they attend university or serve in the military. A spokeswoman for the Obama reelection campaign told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Tuesday that “[t]he president remains committed to fixing our immigration system.” However, with no sign of immigration reform moving forward, Obama’s administration has set records for deportations in 2008 and 2009, with 359,795 and 395,165, respectively, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Deportations in 2010 came within 8,000 of setting a new record, and the Obama administration hopes to reach a target of more than 404,000 deportations in fiscal year 2011.

Will the lack of comprehensive immigration reform hurt Obama’s standing with Hispanic voters next year? When Obama won the 2008 presidential election, he carried 67 percent of the Latino vote. A poll by ImpreMedia and Latino Decisions in June found that only 49 percent of Hispanics surveyed said they were certain they would vote for him again. While several factors affect respondents’ voting preferences, immigration reform is at the top of Latino voters’ priorities. The poll showed that 51 percent of Latinos consider immigration reform and the DREAM Act the most important issues that the president and Congress should address. The next two most-important issues for Latinos were unemployment and education, with 18 percent each.

Learn more:

• Consult the “Restoring Community” report.
• View deportation statistics from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
• Read the Pew Hispanic Center’s report on the Hispanic vote in the 2008 elections.
• Read the DREAM Act.
• See the June poll by Impre Media and Latino Decisions measuring Latino political attitudes.