On June 5, the Secure Communities program went into effect in Washington, DC. With this latest expansion, the Secure Communities program is operating in almost every area across the nation. Run by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Secure Communities program requires the fingerprints of all individuals booked into DC jails to be sent to the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The agencies cross-reference the fingerprints with federal immigration databases. ICE can then issue a detainer request for an individual they wish to remain in custody. The detainer request asks local law enforcement officials to hold the individual for up to 48 hours until the ICE can come in and take over custody.
In response to the activation of Secure Communities, the DC Council passed an emergency act, the Immigration Detainer Compliance Amendment Act. The act was designed to address fears of increased deportation and racial profiling. Under the new amendment, DC law enforcement will only comply with detainer requests for individuals who are over the age of 18 and have been convicted of a serious crime. DC previously tried to completely opt out of the Secure Communities Program, but ICE insisted that participation was mandatory. States and the District of Columbia can opt out of receiving the results of the fingerprint check, but they are required to participate and send the prints to the federal agencies. Members of the DC Council and Mayor Vincent Gray have both expressed concern about the potential problems Secure Communities can create. A central fear among the immigrant community and immigration advocates is enhanced deportation of low-priority immigrants that do not have serious criminal histories.
The Secure Communities Program is fully active nationwide, prompting some states to take action similar to Washington, DC. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo temporarily suspended the program and the California State Senate is currently considering the TRUST Act. Just as with DC's Immigration Detainer Compliance Amendment Act, state authorities would only respond to detainer requests for individuals convicted of "serious" or "violent" crimes if the TRUST Act passes. Cook County, Illinois adopted an ordinance in September 2011 that ordered local law enforcement to ignore detainer requests unless the cost of additional holding time was reimbursed by the federal government. Immigration activists in Washington state and Massachusetts are urging their state legislatures to take similar steps to curb the negative effects of Secure Communities.
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