Momentum Builds for Moratorium on Secure Communities as DHS Prepares For Investigation

The federal government is finally taking notice: something about that so-called "Secure Communities" deportation program stinks. Considering the recent onslaught of unflattering reports, allegations, and investigations, the stench from Secure Communities' failure is becoming increasingly toxic.

Maybe that's why the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General is finally putting together an investigation of the immigration enforcement program. In a letter responding to inquiries by Representative Zoe Lofgren of San Jose, CA, the U.S. Inspector General's office reports that it is indeed planning to look into the Secure Communities (S-Comm) program.

Lofgren, along with New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez, had called on federal investigators to determine whether S-Comm is actually going after the "criminal illegal immigrants" the program purportedly targets. The announcement of an investigation in itself suggests that S-Comm hasn't had the success government officials once promised -- it's why over 2,500 Change.org members are already calling for its rapid expansion to be halted immediately.

Although a federal investigation is now underway, the results are already in from across the nation. We've known for months that S-Comm is inefficient, ineffective and downright dangerous. According to a recent piece in the LA Times, more than half of those kicked out of the country under the mass deportation program had no criminal convictions to speak of. No violent crime, no petty theft, nothing. In LA county alone, over 5,000 undocumented immigrant men and women were detained, fingerprinted and deported over a 16 month period. Not one felony or misdemeanor could be found in their conviction records.

S-Comm even catches victims of domestic violence in its net. According to Vivir Latino, "This is exemplified by what happened to Isaura Garcia, a battered woman whose call to 911 led to her being put into deportation proceedings (which have been stopped). This is like what happened to Maria Bolanos last year."

This track record is a far cry from Secure Communities stated goal of going after "dangerous criminals." It is one of the many reasons the Congressional Hispanic Caucus is calling on President Obama to issue a national moratorium on the Secure Communities program. The Hispanic Caucus believes the federal program's expansion should be cut off, citing an impending danger to minority communities who now fear that reporting a crime may lead to getting deported.

Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois recently announced that the state will withdraw from Secure Communities due to "a conflict” between its stated purpose and its results." New Yorkers are now pressuring Governor Cuomo to do the same. Local efforts in Maryland, as well as campaigns around the Illinois SMART Enforcement Act and the California TRUST Act highlight how the program's mission has turned out to be less about keeping communities safe and more about deporting wide swaths of the undocumented population -- the very same people who would be eligible for earned citizenship under the comprehensive immigration reform measures that President Obama has campaigned on.

With multiple states and counties looking to withdraw from S-Comm, and a federal investigation pending, there is no longer any reason to continue to expand this flawed deportation dragnet.  Sign the petition to tell the Obama administration and Janet Napolitano to enact a moratorium on the so-called "Secure Communities" program immediately.

Photo credit: Filledtires