Debate Over Role of Local Police in Immigration Enforcement

'Secure Communities' program aimed at violent offenders, but deporting many non-criminals

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Supervisory Detention and Deportation officer Phillip Crawford looks out over the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility on July 30, 2010 in Florence, Arizona. (John Moore/Getty)

"Secure Communities," the federal initiative by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is supposed to find and deport illegal immigrants who have committed violent crimes. ICE aims to do this by requiring states to forward the fingerprints of people booked by local police to federal immigration officials. But is that how the program really works? More than a fourth of the people deported under the Secure Communities policy have no criminal record at all. Some local law enforcement groups say that if illegal immigrants fear they'll be deported after interacting with the police, they will avoid calling them, even when crimes are being committed.

Sunita Patel is a staff attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights. She opposes the Secure Communities program, saying that it violates our constitutional rights. Mark Krikorian, the executive director of the Center for Immigration studies, a conservative policy center, explains why he supports deportation under these circumstances.

Guests:

Mark Krikorian and Sunita Patel

Comments [4]

Sharon Smith from Georgia

Personally i see this country starting on it's way to another "internal war" between the states over immigration..... kinda reminds you of the war over slavery ...... this country is built on IMMIGRANTS....all of our forefathers are ILLIGEAL IMMIGRANTS if you were to ask the "NATIVE AMERICAN" tribes...because History shows for a fact we damn sure didn't ask their permission to come here and take over... now we have to get all indignant over mexicans coming here to live and work and raise family's..Well, the so called "jobs" they are working we cant pay Americans to do, and if you think they can, I suggest you get off your collective asses and TRY to go work one of those so called JOBS. Damn folks can't we just live and let live now a days? Havn't we as a society learned that OUR way is not the only way and if everyone left everyone else alone maybe things would be just a tad bit better in a country that is going to POT!!!!!!!!!

Aug. 16 2010 07:15 AM
stanley bisikirski from North Kingstown, RI

Re: Securities segment; Based on my 27 years of experience with INS Sunita Patel's argument that aliens will not cooperate with the police because of the police's cooperation with ICE is fallacious. Most of the information
that we developed against counterfitors, smugglers, and criminal aliens came from the alien community. This is another attempt by the advocates of open borders to prevent the enforcement of laws and to make this country safer.

Aug. 13 2010 12:37 AM
hilary lanzer from Miami

Greetings -
I spend my drive to work listening to you from 9AM-10AM daily and I'm tired of hearing about the doom and gloom of the economy in Florida. I started my business in September of 2007 in Miami and we have now grown into a company with 11 persons on the staff and doubled out voulme of business every year. Let's have a story about successful small businesses and let's look towards the future optimistically!
Thanks!

Aug. 12 2010 10:31 AM
a g from n j

a bit off topic but related-re:the birth rate of undocumented immigrants: there is great variation in birth rate,between,among,and within latin american cultures. it should not be taboo to compassionately address the higher birth rates of certain peoples. unfortunately,by the the default of silence,engendered by the inability of progressives to jump in,it becomes the "darling" of neo-eugenic minded folk. there has to be a notion that encompasses the reality of a planet with limited resources,and adressing this should not of necessity be a gift handed to those that hate with facility. in the end this is,and should be a win win for all,if we could put our liberal political correctness to the side,for the sake of everyone. btw- i think people woukld be taken a lot more seriously,if they addressed this,let us not pretend that sterotypes,are fanciful,let us face them head on,without the hyperbole,and the political football that solves nothing.

Aug. 12 2010 09:55 AM

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