Many reasons not to implement Immigration program: "Secure Communities"

Currently, when the police arrests a suspect, their fingerprints are sent to the FBI, which checks a criminal database to verify identity and see if they are wanted in other places. Under “Secure Communities”, the FBI will run fingerprints against an immigration database. If there is no match for an existing record, fingerprints are added to the immigration database (no matter what the immigration status is of the person arrested). If there is a match, the FBI sends information to ICE to check status. ICE then sends information to the police and ICE's local Enforcement and Removal Office, who then determines to hold the individual until ICE can take custody. All of this can happen before formal charges are filed.

Secure Communities often ensnares hard-working immigrants guilty of no crime:

• "Secure Communities” has not done what it is supposed to do – go after dangerous criminals. 75 % of those deported under this program have NOT been dangerous criminals.
• In Boston, over half of the deportees – 53% -- have not even been accused of any criminal offense whatsoever.
• By clogging up the system with low-level or civil cases, “Secure Communities” takes ICE’s resources from actually pursuing real criminals.

“Secure Communities” breeds distrust between police and the community, decreasing safety for everyone:

• Community members are already expressing alarm and are fearful to have any interaction with police.
• The program COULD encourage racial profiling. Police would know that everyone they arrest would get an immigration check. We have already heard cases of racial profiling in the Western & Central Mass.
• Victims of domestic violence are often accused by their abuser and subsequently arrested, making them prime targets for deportation through“Secure Communities”. The program may even discourage women from reporting life-threatening conditions.

The mechanism of “Secure Communities” is seriously flawed:

• There is no way to appeal for people who believe they have been wrongly identified in ICE’s database.
• There is no program oversight, to be sure that any of the abuses, such as racial profiling, are not taking place.
• The governor rightly said before that we need much more data about the program before spreading it widely. We still do not have that data.

Massachusetts already has an effective system for identifying and deporting criminals.

• MA already has a 287 g accord with the house of corrections, so criminals who are actually convicted already go through the deportation process after serving their time.
• This system could potentially tie up bed space in local jails, where people are held before transfer to ICE.

The governor’s rationale for signing on now doesn’t make sense.

• The Governor claims that he is legally required to sign-on to Secure Communities. This is false — there is no legal requirement to sign-on. ICE plans to make Secure Communities national by 2013, but they will do so regardless of whether a jurisdiction wants it or not.
• The Governor is claiming that he is signing on to Secure Communities in order to "have a seat at the table". There is no table. In prior discussions between state officials and ICE, ICE has said that there is no flexibility and that they are not willing to put any limitations on their enforcement authority.

ICE’s claim that this program focuses its efforts on “Dangerous Offenders” is dubious for three reasons:

• There is no reason to believe that ICE resources are that limited.
• ICE resources expand every year, so even if this claim is true now, it won't be true in the near future.
• The majority of dangerous offenders are serving time in prison. ICE resources won't be used on them until their prison terms are up, leaving resources free to go after other immigrants.

This is a problematic program that will not properly secure our communities!

Stand for Public Safety

The Patrick Administration abruptly reversed course last week and announced it would sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), entering the state into the controversial "Secure Communities" program. (See previous post for details)

Law enforcement enrolled in the program automatically runs fingerprints of all arrested persons against an ICE database.In practice, however, the program has had numerous problems. Nationally, almost 80% of those deported have not been dangerous criminals, and in Boston, over half of those deported have not been guilty of any crime (immigration violations are generally a civil, not a criminal, offense).The program is also criticized by immigrant and civil rights advocates for potentially increasing racial profiling, and for decreasing levels of trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities

CALL Governor Patrick NOW at 617-725-4005 and tell him that you disapprove his agreement with ICE and not to implement this racial bias program in our state!

Sample Script:

My name is ­­­­­­­­_____________ and I live in the city/town of ___________. I am calling Governor Patrick to say that I disapprove his intention to sign the Secure Communities agreement with ICE, when it's NOT mandatory. The Governor should cancel his decision that will increase racial profiling and decrease trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities. Thank you!

Join Centro Presente and advocates TOMORROW in denouncing Massachusetts' intention to sign on to 'Secure Communities'

When: Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2010 at 11:00 AM
Where: In front of Massachusetts State House

Gov. Patrick to sign "Secure Communities" agreement

Immigrant and Refugee Community Oppose Patrick's"Secure Communities" Accord
Agreement called premature and potentially dangerous

BOSTON -- The Patrick Administration abruptly reversed course today and announced it would sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Immigrant and Customs Enforcement (ICE), entering the state into the controversial "Secure Communities" program. Law enforcement enrolled in the program automatically runs fingerprints of all arrested persons against an ICE database. The federal government's intention is to flag and detain those with immigration violations, thus improving the apprehension and deportation of dangerous criminals, or "Level 1" offenders. In practice, however, the program has had numerous problems. Nationally, almost 80% of those deported have not been "Level 1" violators, and in Boston, over half of those deported have not been guilty of any criminal behavior whatsoever (immigration violations are generally a civil, not a criminal, offense). The program is also criticized by immigrant and civil rights advocates for potentially increasing instances of racial profiling, and for decreasing levels of trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities.

Governor Deval Patrick had previously named these and other systematic concerns as issues needing further scrutiny before the state entered into any formal "Secure Communities" accord. Nationally, the program has been slowed in jurisdictions that expressed similar misgivings, which has called into question the ability ICE to appropriately implement "Secure Communities" nationwide by 2013.

"Governor Patrick has previously shown great sensitivity to the concerns expressed by the state's immigrant and refugee communities," said Eva Millona, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. "That is why we were shocked and deeply disappointed that he would reverse course without any apparent need. We continue to believe that the state should hold off from signing any "Secure Communities" accord until the program is fully scrutinized and its serious flaws addressed. We can only conclude that the governor is receiving faulty legal advice, and we urge him and his advisers to reconsider this unnecessary and potentially dangerous decision at this time."

Press Contact: Franklin Soults, Communications Director 617-350-5480 ext. 204, 216-849-2271, fsoults@miracoalition.org

The charts below, compiled by ACLU, show ICE data of Secure Communities program implemented in Boston. Even though ICE claims that the program is targeted at serious "Level 1" offenders, more than half of all detainers placed and deportations carried out are of non-criminal individuals.

PRESS STATEMENT: Immigrant Detainee Dies at Mass. Hospital

A Tragic Reminder that Detention System Needs Reform

BOSTON -- On Monday, October 19, Pedro Juan Tavarez, a 49-year-old native of the Dominican Republic in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, died at Women and Bringham's Hospital in Boston.

ICE was holding Tavarez on immigration violations at The Suffolk County House of Corrections, which transferred him to Brigham and Women's after the correction facility's medical staff suggested possible pneumonia. The hospital was treating Tavarez for heart and respiratory conditions when he died, but the official cause of death has not yet been determined by the medical examiner.

"Mr. Tavarez's death is a tragedy," said Eva Millona, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA). "We don't yet know if his passing could have been avoided. But we do know that the current immigration-detention system relies on a decentralized network of local jails that, in many respects, is simply inhumane. It treats the civil infraction of 'immigration violation' like a criminal offense, and it does not adequately protect the health of its most vulnerable detainees."

MIRA applauds the Obama Administration's acknowledgment of the seriousness of the problem. In August, ICE announced plans to "move away from a jail-oriented approach to a system wholly designed for and based on ICE's civil detention authorities." (See the ICE fact sheet). But the process won't be complete for three to five years, and the gravity of this delay was recognized earlier this month in a report by Dora B. Schriro, then ICE's Office of Detention Policy and Planning Director, who wrote a top-to-bottom appraisal of the system before quitting to become New York City's correction commissioner. As The New York Times wrote, the report "calls for prompt attention to individual complaints about a lack of medical care." In an interview with the Times, Department of Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano could only promise "to implement a system to better place people with medical or mental health needs" within six months.

"Six months is not good enough," said Millona. "Five years is far worse. The detention system demands immediate reform because too often its flaws have led to fatal consequences. We ask Governor Patrick, Massachusetts county authorities, and the individual detention facilities to start implementing reforms now. For too many immigrant detainees -- many of whom are hardworking family members who have broken no criminal laws -- this is truly a life and death issue."

Good News at the End of a Long Week

After a long week that included sharp cuts in funding to many essential programs and services across the state, including some to programs and services for immigrants and refugees, it is nice to see the potential of our advocacy efforts. For those of you who are not familiar with the story of the Ateaga family, it started here. Thanks to advocacy efforts by MIRA and others, this is the end of the story for now:

Series of Stories Highlight Injustice of U.S. Immigration System

A number of stories appeared in the news today that highlighted the various injustices that are currently masquerading as an immigration system in the U.S.

First, The Boston Globe's Kevin Cullen wrote an op-ed profiling the impact of ICE's indiscriminate enforcement policies on the families of hard-working, tax-paying immigrants in the U.S. A father now faces deportation, while the rest of his family and its livelihood slowly slips away. His wife is left with the job of explaining to the family's four year old what is happening to his father:

Their youngest, the 4-year-old, sat in the circle at play group the other day and tried to explain what was going on to his buddies.

"The 4-year-old can't begin to fathom it, and I can't fathom how to explain it to him," Leah Arteaga was saying.

What is ICE's response? Nothing out of the ordinary, they used their normal refrain of "routine, targeted fugitive operation." I wonder if this report backs that assertion up? If you don't have time to read it, the answer is NO.

The New York Times ran another story highlighting the deplorable conditions of immigrant detention in the U.S., where ICE is having a hard time keeping track of the number of detainees who have died in detention. If last week's Amnesty International report and Keith Olbermann's tirade against U.S. detention policy wasn't enough, the Times article discusses the vanishing act that DHS and ICE tried to pull when a detainee died of a heart attack in 2005.

There have been a number of high-profile cases involving the death of immigrants in detention as the article details:

As Congress and the news media brought new scrutiny to the issue, several detention deaths have highlighted problems with medical care and accountability. In one, a Chinese computer engineer’s extensive cancer and fractured spine went undiagnosed at a Rhode Island jail until shortly before he died, despite his pleas for help. In another, records show a Guinean tailor who suffered a skull fracture in a New Jersey jail was left in isolation without treatment for more than 13 hours.

These unjust and inhumane practices need to stop immediately. If they don't we'll continue to here stories like this one:

The union learned that the inspector general’s office had written up a synopsis of the allegations for investigation by the immigration agency, saying that “Ahmad Tander,” a Pakistani detainee housed at the Monmouth jail, had died “from a heart attack whose symptoms were obvious, severe and ignored until it was too late,” amid “conditions of neglect and indifference to medical needs.”

MIRA, Amnesty International, ACLU, and Others Protest Quadrupling of Immigrant Detention

On Friday, more than 300 people protested the dramatic rise of immigrant detention in New England, where the average number of currently detained immigrants has tripled, and the U.S., where that number has quadrupled.

"It is time for us to stand up and say enough," said Eva Millona, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA), who called on Congress to create a path to legal residency for the 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States. "The cycle must end."

Not only have the numbers increased, but conditions have continued to be deplorable, with many immigrants in detention lacking adequate health care and access to legal representation. Unfortunately, an alarming 74 immigrants have died in detention over the past five years.

And while it is trivial in the battle for human rights and dignity, detention is not cost-effective. Detention averages $94/night, while other alternatives to detention cost a mere $13.

Video Documents Impact of Raids on Families and Children

This video tells the story of the Carreno family, which has suffered at the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. I.C.E. Took My Father from New America Media on Vimeo.

The raids must end.

Keith Olbermann Criticizes U.S. Detention Practices

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Amnesty International Releases "Jailed Without Justice" Report Documenting Conditions of U.S. Immigration Detention

Amnesty International U.S.A. released a chilling report on conditions of immigrant detention in the U.S. today. Read the full report here.

Remember when reading the report and taking a look at key findings that the Massachusetts prison system relies on this injustice to support its budget.

You can also visit this page to view a slideshow of photos and captions that chronicle detention.

The report included the following information (blockquote from here):

• In the last decade the number of immigrants in detention has tripled from 10,000 in 1996 to over 30,000 in 2008, and this number is likely to increase even further in 2009.
• The US detains asylum seekers, survivors of torture and human trafficking, lawful permanent residents and the parents of U.S. citizen children.
• While the average cost of detaining an immigrant is $95 per person/per day, alternatives to detention are significantly cheaper, with some programs costing as little as $12 per day. Despite the proven effectiveness of these less expensive and less restrictive alternatives, the government is choosing to detain instead.
• Immigrants can be detained for months or years without any form of meaningful individualized review of whether their detention is necessary.
• The vast majority of people in immigration detention - 84 percent - are unable to obtain the legal assistance necessary to present viable claims in an adversarial and complex court process.
• The US contracts with approximately 350 state and county criminal jails to house approximately 67% of all immigrants in detention.
• Detention facilities are required to comply with ICE detention standards, however, these standards are not legally binding, and oversight and accountability for abuse or neglect in detention is almost nonexistent, leading to practices in violation of international standards. Immigrants are often put in excessive restraints, including handcuffs, belly chains and leg restraints, and are detained alongside individuals incarcerated for criminal offenses.
• Individuals in detention find it very difficult to get timely - and at times any - treatment for their medical needs. 74 people have died while in immigration detention over the past five years.

The report also includes the following recommendations:

1. The US Congress should pass legislation creating a presumption against the detention of immigrants and asylum seekers and ensuring that it be used as a measure of last resort;
   
2. The US government should ensure that alternative non-custodial measures, such as reporting requirements or an affordable bond, are always explicitly considered before resorting to detention. Reporting requirements should not be unduly onerous, invasive or difficult to comply with, especially for families with children and those of limited financial means. Conditions of release should be subject to judicial review.
   
3. The US Congress should pass legislation to ensure that all immigrants and asylum seekers have access to individualized hearings on the lawfulness, necessity, and appropriateness of detention.
   
4. The US government should ensure the adoption of enforceable human rights detention standards in all detention facilities that house immigration detainees, either through legislation or through the adoption of enforceable policies and procedures by the Department of Homeland Security. There should be effective independent oversight to ensure compliance with detention standards and accountability for any violations.

Kudos to our friends at AI for continuing the expose the national embarrassment that is immigrant detention.

Click on links for media coverage in The Boston Globe and a more detailed account in the San Francisco Chronicle.

In other news, AI is holding its annual general meeting this weekend in Boston (March 27-29). Check out the details here.

Another Day, Another Report Critical of ICE

This time the report, by Human Rights Watch and the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, criticizes Immigration and Customs Enforcement for their failures to provide adequate health care to detainees.

AP Analysis of ICE Database Reveals Expansion of Costly Enforcement-only Strategies that Infringe on the Rights of Immigrants in Detention

An AP report release yesterday shed more light on what immigrant advocates have known for years: The enforcement-only strategies of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are ineffective, inefficient and have little regard for the rights of immigrant detainees.