MA- Sherrifs & other police departments oppose Governor Deval Patrick and push for Secure Communties program.

Three Massachusetts sheriffs are in talks with federal immigration officials to bring the Secure Communities program to their cities and towns, three months after Governor Deval Patrick said he opposed taking the controversial crime-fighting strategy statewide.

The sheriffs of Bristol, Worcester, and Plymouth counties say they want to join Boston police in the initiative, which cross-checks the fingerprints of everyone arrested against federal immigration databases, with the goal of deporting serious criminals. Federal officials confirmed they are in discussions with the sheriffs, and said other police departments have also expressed interest.

The sheriffs have, for some time, been vocal in the news media in their support of the program. Nicole Navas, agency spokeswoman, would not say whether it would be activated in other cities and towns in Massachusetts before the end of 2013, when it will become mandatory nationwide. To activate Secure Communities, US officials say they first need enough federal agents, jail space for detainees, and vehicles to transport them to make it work. Secure Communities was launched in 2008, after it was offered as a pilot program in Boston, and is now in 43 states and Puerto Rico.

Secure Communities works by tapping into a longstanding relationship between local and state police and the FBI. For years, local law enforcement have sent the fingerprints of people arrested and booked to the FBI to check their criminal records. Under Secure Communities, the FBI shares those fingerprints with immigration officials, to determine if the person is here illegally and to pursue action against them.



Link:
http://articles.boston.com/2011-09-04/news/30113272_1_deporting-immigration-officials-illegal-immigrants