The controversial federal immigration program, Secure Communities began statewide on Wednesday and immigrants and social rights advocates rallied at the state Capitol against the program.
“Secure Communities” calls for state and local law enforcement agencies to automatically share fingerprints with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security so Immigration and Customs Enforcement can check information against DHS immigration databases.
If a suspect is found to be in the country illegally, ICE officials ask local police departments to hold that suspect for 48-hours while the deportation process begins.
The program is aimed at targeting violent offenders.
CT Students for a Dream, Connecticut Center for a New Economy and other advocacy groups joined Wednesday to present Gov. Dannel P. Malloy with a letter urging him to delay the program's implementation and asked that it distinguish between low and high level offenders.
Undersecretary for Criminal Justice Policy and Planning Mike Lawlor accepted the letter on behalf of the governor. Lawlor said the state has no direct control over what ICE is doing, but the governor will monitor what happens under the program.
The Malloy administration released a statement earlier in the week stating that the governor has asked Leo Arnone, the Department of Corrections Commissioner, to review how the program is implemented, what the ramifications are and see if corrective action is needed going forward.
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A report from U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the goal of the program is to strengthen the federal government’s ability to target criminals and ensure that resources are not focused on "low-priorities," such as deporting young people who were brought to this country as young children.
Fairfield County is the only county in the state that has adopted this program, but some published reports state that 71 percent of people who were deported from Fairfield County were originally arrested for minor offenses or had no criminal record.
Some say this is a violation of civil rights and they are asking the governor to delay activation of this program and consider other options.
