NDLON

Washington DC Maintains Bright Line Between Police and Wrongful Deportation Policies 

June 05, 2012. Washington, DC

The Washington, DC Council was praised by a wide coalition of community, faith, and labor organizations for passing the Immigration Detainer Compliance Emergency Amendment Act in response to today’s federally imposed activation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s controversial "Secure Communities" deportation program.

The act, which was introduced by Councilmember Mendelson, will limit Immigration and Customs Enforcement's use of District facilities and equipment and also narrows S-Comm’s deportation dragnet by only responding to immigration detention requests for individuals who are over 18 and have been convicted of a dangerous crime. Last fall the permanent version of the act, the Immigration Detainer Compliance Amendment, was unanimously co-sponsored by all DC councilmembers. The act builds upon the Mayor’s Order 2011-174 (October 19, 2011) that prohibits all public safety agencies from inquiring about individuals’ immigration status or transmitting information about immigration status.

Sarahi Uribe of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network says, "We're proud to live in a city with a bright line guarding against unjust deportation policies that erode trust, divide our communities, and endanger our families.  DC has joined a growing trend of local governments that care about protecting the safety and rights of their residents.  When DHS Secretary Napolitano spread S-Comm throughout the country, it triggered a movement that is growing stronger by the day to resist and overcome the criminalization of immigrants.” 

32BJ Capital Area Director Jaime Contreras adds: “Secure Communities only leaves us less secure as crimes go unreported and victims go unprotected when immigrants fear the police. City Council members are doing the right thing by passing legislation to preserve community trust and to reduce the number of unjust deportations. Enforcement-only tactics break up families, disrupt businesses, distract local law enforcement and drain local budgets. Congress must pass fair and balanced reform now to ensure immigrants are full participants in our economic recovery”

Jaime Farrant, Executive Director of AYUDA a legal services provider to the immigrant community including domestic violence victims, says:  We salute the DC Council's approval of the Immigration Detainer Compliance Emergency Amendment Act.  We believe that it is a positive step towards ensuring that DC maintains its reputation as a place where immigrants are welcomed and can have the opportunity to succeed in this country. Furthermore, we welcome the measure's desire to guarantee that immigrant crime victims can continue to trust their local authorities, and that they can turn to them for relief and assistance without fear of being punished when seeking help."

Nikki Daruwala, Executive Director, DC Jobs with Justice commented: "Today's passage of the Immigration Detainer Emergency Compliance Act is a major triumph for working people in the District.  It speaks directly to the fundamental importance of keeping our city vibrant and diverse while protecting and advancing the rights of all its residents.  Kudos to the DC Council for coming together in a timely manner to pass this vital piece of legislation."

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OIG Report on Secure Communities Deportation Program Heightens Controversy over Failed Program. Advocates Decry report as “window dressing,” and renew calls: “End SCOMM. Don’t Mend it.”

04.06.2012. Washington, DC.

 Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General issued two reports on the much-maligned “Secure Communities” deportation program. The reports, which come after two years of mounting opposition to Secure Communities from state and local officials, congressional representatives, advocates, and faith groups, were quickly dismissed by advocates as inadequate to address the program’s failings.

Instead, the groups conclude that the reports are proof that ICE cannot reform itself and that there is no suitable solution for the program other than its termination.

“In an attempt to justify the program, the reports inadvertently admit that ICE has mutated S-Comm into an overreaching dragnet. Secure Communities was sold as a public safety program but has since proven the opposite. The OIG reports confirm that when it became clear that over 50% of deportations fell outside the program’s original scope, ICE changed its categories and is now trumping minor offenses as its new priority,” explains Sarahí Uribe of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. “These reports only strengthen calls for the program's complete termination.  DHS refuses to take responsibility for the program’s failues. DHS cannot continue to stick it's head in the sand while spreading the program’s dangerous consequences."  

Sunita Patel of the Center for Constitutional Rights says “The Inspector General reports are wholly insufficient. The reports ignore the enormous body of evidence that Secure Communities is a failure. Instead, the IG offers window dressing for a program that can’t be dressed up. The only suitable solution is to terminate Secure Communities and shift priorities to repair the harm it has caused.”

Sonia Lin of the Cardozo Immigration Justice Clinic adds, “The fact that DHS expects the public to accept this report as reform is an outrage. It does little to address the real-life impact of Secure Communities on immigrant communities. Not only does Secure Communities undermine community policing efforts in jurisdictions seeking to work with immigrant communities, it also facilitates racial profiling in jurisdictions such as Maricopa County to violate the rights of non-citizens and drive immigrants out.  After so much pain has been caused by Secure Communities, its victims deserve to see the program terminated.”

More than two years ago, CCR, NDLON, and the Cardozo Immigration Justice Clinic began still-on-going FOIA litigation to uncover the truth about the rapidly expanding deportation program.

Since that time, the program has been mired in controversy for deliberately misleading the public and for devastating trust in law enforcement due to its wide-reach that has been known to ensnare even victims of crimes. The program’s implementation created such a chilling effect on law enforcement relations that parents in the sexual abuse tragedy at Miramonte school in Los Angeles cited the Sheriff’s participation in Secure Communities as a primary reason they did not seek law enforcement help to protect their children.   

Last August, in an attempt to quell the growing criticism of the program, including the governors of Illinois, New York and Massachusetts who attempted to opt-out of Secure Communities, DHS established a taskforce whose members eventually resigned in response of recommendations similar to the IG report they found to be completely insufficient. 

Evidence chronicled in two national reports; Restoring Community published by a national coalition and Secure Communities by the Numbers published by the Warren Institute have led to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus calling for a moratorium program and a broader chorus calling for its termination.

Background:

“Restoring Trust” A National Report on Secure Communities

Secure Communities By the Numbers – Warren Institute Report

The DHS Inspector General Report can be found here

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“The only things ICE is apparently willing to credit to me… are those which they wish to use to imply I was a rogue… I have been made a scapegoat for reasons of political expediency.” – Fired Contractor, Dan Cadman
Detailed letters released today from a former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) contractor to Representative Zoe Lofgren give rise to grave questions of Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) transparency and integrity in the administration of the controversial ICE Secure Communities (S-Comm) program.
Following the release of internal emails as a result of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation by the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the Cardozo Law School Immigration Justice Clinic, the federal government has been under pressure to answer questions about the program’s use and scope. The new letters further reveal DHS' attempts to cover up mismanagement and lies, including questioning the redactions of documents about the opting-out issue that a federal judge ordered federal agencies to release in January.
Attached to Rep. Lofgren’s letter to the DHS Office of Inspector General urging an immediate investigation into S-Comm are two letters from a former ICE contractor, Dan Cadman, who claims responsibility for a majority of S-Comm activations. He wrote, “I believe key elements in the ICE correspondence [to you] are inaccurate and misleading… ICE painted itself into a corner and needed someone to blame.” He enclosed a letter he wrote to ICE Secure Communities Acting Assistant Director, Marc Rapp, following his “abrupt” termination: "I will admit to being puzzled as to which documents the FOIA office elected to provide versus those they withheld." He notes in some instances the FOIA office redacted his name while in others they did not and credits the misrepresentation of the program as the key factor to New York State’s former Governor Patterson’s agreement to participate, observing, "this would be downright amusing, if the subject matter were not so serious."
Bridget Kessler, attorney at Benjamin Cardozo School of Law, observed, "ICE cannot choose to release documents and redact names selectively, particularly not to hide government misconduct or dishonesty. FOIA gives the public a right to access information about what their government officials are doing and does not allow for agencies to withhold documents simply because they might be embarrassing."
"The worst part of ICE's lack of transparency and accountability in the development and deployment of S-Comm is that every day S-Comm tears families apart and spreads fear in immigrant communities across the nation. ICE's conduct belies a fundamental lack of respect for democracy and the people that are impacted by its harsh policies," said Sunita Patel, attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights
Sarahí Uribe of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network said, “Secure Communities has become an ever larger symbol of President Obama’s broken promises on immigration. We second the call by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. We need a moratorium on this program immediately. Each day ICE exposes itself as a rogue agency that needs to be reigned in. Those responsible for this attempt at a cover-up have no place in the offices of a democracy.”
New York FOIA documents are, for the first time, posted here:
http://uncoverthetruth.org/foia-documents-new-york

Correspondence between Lofgren, Morton, Inspector General, and Cadman (Cadman letters at end of Document): http://ndlon.org/pdf/2011-05cadman.pdf

A Petition for a Moratorium on S-Comm Launched Today at: http://bit.ly/scommice


NDLON v. ICE litigates President Obama’s flagship “Secure Communities” biometrics program, currently operating in over 1,200 jurisdictions in 42 states as of May 2011. Rights groups say the program makes state and local policing central to the enforcement of federal immigration law. The program automatically runs fingerprints through immigration databases for all people arrested and targets them for detention and deportation even if their criminal charges are minor, eventually dismissed or the result of an unlawful arrest. The documents released as a result of the litigation have shown widespread internal agency confusion about the program’s voluntary nature as well as the government’s heavy-handed implementation strategy. Mayer Brown serves as co-counsel in the case.

For more information on NDLON v. ICE or to view documents produced by the government, visit the Center for Constitutional Right’s legal case page or www.uncoverthetruth.org.

The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a non-profit legal and educational organization committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change. Visit www.ccrjustice.org

The mission of the National Day Laborer Organization Network is to improve the lives of day laborers in the U.S. by unifying and strengthening its member organizations to be more strategic and effective in their efforts to develop leadership, mobilize day laborers in order to protect and expand their civil, labor and human rights. Visit www.ndlon.org

The Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law was founded in 2008 to provide quality pro bono legal representation to indigent immigrants facing deportation. Under the supervision of experienced practitioners, law students in the Clinic represent individuals facing deportation and community-based organizations in public advocacy, media and litigation projects. Visit www.cardozo.yu.edu/immigrationjustice

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Washington DC - Yesterday the Department of Homeland Security launched its advisory committee as part of the response to the growing controversy and resistance from states and law enforcement towards Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) “Secure Communities” program.
When ICE announced cosmetic modifications earlier this month it promoted the advisory committee made up of law enforcement, ICE agents, and advocates as a body purported to issue recommendations in 45 days on how to “mitigate impacts on community policing,” “how to best focus on individuals who pose a true public safety and security threat,” as well as how to implement a post-conviction policy for traffic offenses.
Today advocates learned that in fact the commission is limited to recommendations about minor traffic offenses—a significant departure from ICE’s announcement. The commission also appears to be tangled in levels of bureaucracy —the advisory committee reports to another DHS committee.
Sarahi Uribe of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network said: "The advisory commission launched by DHS is a sham like the rest of the ‘Secure Communities’ program. The more we learn about the commission the more we smell a rat. A committee tasked on whether they should separate and detain families pre or post conviction for broken tail lights is another embarrassment for the Obama Administration and its disregard for human rights in this country."
“Forty-five days and a few short meetings is not enough time to truly examine a vast program like S-Comm,“ said Bridget Kessler of Cardozo Law School Immigration Justice Clinic, “ICE is once again spouting superficial talking points and band-aid solutions instead of confronting S-Comm’s fundamental flaws.”
ICE recently posted a document titled “Secure Communities: Get the Facts” on its website. Advocates, questioning ICE’s “facts,” issued this response: http://tinyurl.com/4x7tnbn
“The Office of Inspector General of DHS is set to investigate the problems with Secure Communities, including whether public officials were misled by the agency,” said Sunita Patel, Staff Attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights. “The advisory committee's narrow scope ignores the concerns of public officials and civil rights groups. Advocates and community members have called for an end to Secure Communities and the administration should listen.”
Last year ICE issued a document titled “Setting the Record Straight” in response to the release of data about S-Comm. The document, which outlined a procedure to opt-out of the program, was later taken down from the ICE website. “ICE's ‘Get the Facts’ web posting is like 'Setting the Record Straight,' all spin without substance aimed at hiding the truth,” concluded Sunita Patel....

Judge to Hold Hearing Today as Government Tries to Withhold More Documents


New York - In the wake of protests and civil disobedience in Chicago yesterday and across the country criticizing the Obama administration’s Secure Communities program, immigrant advocates called on the government to turn over remaining documents about the program sought in a Freedom of Information lawsuit and to halt the controversial program.
A batch of unredacted documents released by court order this week, which federal district court Judge Shira A. Scheindlin called “embarrassing,” included acknowledgement by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) attorneys that they would have to “rewrite” memos on whether the program is mandatory for states and localities and revealed schisms between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on the right of states and localities to opt out of the program. In her order, Judge Scheindlin chided the agencies for going “out of their way to mislead the public about Secure Communities,” and pointedly stated that the “purpose of the [Freedom of Information Act] is to shed light on the operation of government, not shield it from embarrassment.”
The judge has not yet ruled on whether the government must release other documents relating to the legal authority to make Secure Communities mandatory. Strikingly, the government continues to attempt to withhold documents that shed light on that policy. ICE will be back in court today arguing it should be able to keep secret documents relating to the agency’s purported legal basis to impose S-Comm on unwilling states like Massachusetts, Illinois and New York.
The documents are being sought in a Freedom of Information lawsuit brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights and the Immigration Justice Clinic of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law with the law firm of Mayer Brown LLP on behalf of the National Day Laborer Organization Network.
One previously redacted email chain of over 100 pages shows the director of Secure Communities, David Venturella, dodging questions from Margo Schlanger, an important official from the Department of Homeland Security Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (OCRCL). When ordering release of this document, Judge Scheindlin observed that the exchange showed “clearly obfuscating” and “non-responsive” answers from ICE in response to a request for clarification from OCRCL about Secure Communities policy. DHS000196-000317.
Another email chain from July 2010 discussing a draft response to Representative Zoe Lofgren’s letter requesting clarification on the agency’s opt-out policy indicates that the FBI was considering an opt-out option. The FBI had concerns that if no opt-out was allowed, states might consider not sending fingerprints to the FBI for other purposes. The email notes that “moving away from the mandatory stance” would require “S1” (Secretary Napolitano) and AG approval. ICE FOIA 10-2674.0002039.
The back-and-forth and deception was clearly frustrating to ICE officials. In an angry email dated August 6, 2010, a Secure Communities employee comments: “We never address whether or not it is mandatory – the answer is written to sound like it is but doesn’t state it. It’s very convoluted – or is that the point? I’m all about shades of grey but this really is a black and white question…Is it mandatory? Yes or No. Ok, so not such an easy question to answer.” ICE FOIA 10-2674.0011165-ICE FOIA 10-2674.11171.
Commenting on the documents, Sunita Patel, staff attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights said, “The previously redacted portions of these documents—now public for the first time—reveal the extent of ICE’s deceit and political game-playing in its communications with states and localities. Perhaps more disconcerting, though, is the confusion and flip-flopping within the agency about their own policies and plans for deployment of such a high-impact and unprecedented program.”
Added Bridget Kessler, an attorney with the Cardozo Immigration Justice Clinic, “These newly unredacted documents signal that the fight is not over yet. ICE’s purportedly ‘mandatory’ S-Comm policy appears to lack a sound legal basis, and is certainly misguided and confused as a matter of policy. Massachusetts, New York and Illinois should continue to push the federal government to honor their rejection of S-Comm.”
Sarahi Uribe, national organizer for the National Day Laborer Organizing Network said, “Even as they moved full-speed-ahead with deploying this program across the nation, at times top-level agency officials didn’t seem to fully understand—or disagreed about—how the program would work. Everywhere around the country people are resisting—there have been walkouts and arrests during S-Comm hearings, rallies, and thousands of petition signatures delivered to President Obama. The time has come. It’s time to halt S-Comm.”
The groups said they will continue to litigate this case to obtain the full information about S-Comm that the public is entitled to.
Visit CCR’s NDLON v. ICE case page or the joint website, UncovertheTruth.org, for an index of the newly released documents, the text of the FOIA request, the lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York and all other relevant documents.
The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a non-profit legal and educational organization committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change. Visit www.ccrjustice.org.
The mission of the National Day Laborer Organization Network is to improve the lives of day laborers in the U.S. by unifying and strengthening its member organizations to be more strategic and effective in their efforts to develop leadership, mobilize day laborers in order to protect and expand their civil, labor and human rights. Visit www.ndlon.org.
The Immigration Justice Clinic of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law was founded in 2008 to provide quality pro bono legal representation to indigent immigrants facing deportation. Under the supervision of experienced practitioners, law students in the Clinic represent individuals facing deportation and community-based organizations in public advocacy, media and litigation projects. Visit www.cardozo.yu.edu.


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