Secure Communities – Deportation with no prior criminal record

Opponents of the federal program called Secure Communities are speaking out in protest saying a program that was created to catch illegal immigrants with criminal records is now forcing individuals who are non-criminals to be deported.

According to the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, an estimated 1 in 4 individuals are deported by Secure Communities that had no prior criminal convictions. For instance, more than half the people in Franklin County, Ohio where Secure Communities was adopted in January 2010 were deported with no criminal record.

Many opponents of the program, like chairman of the Ohio Hispanic Coalition Joe Luis Mas are urging the President and the federal government to push immigration agents to focus on immigrants with convictions and change how Secure Communities works. Additionally, others like the spokesman for the National Day Laborer Organizing Network B. Loewe fear the program allows law enforcement to use racial profiling.

Contact Information