Legitimacy Of Se Communities Program Weakened

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Last week was a rough one for Se Communities, a controversial federal deportation program that critics charge is counterproductive and unconstitutional. The most significant developments came from California, where the program has essentially lost support at the city and state levels. The S-Comm program is run by the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which uses fingerprints taken when someone is arrested to automatically check the person’s immigration status. If immigration officials have any concerns, they ask local law enforcement to hold that person for an additional 48 hours to give an immigration agent time to pick up the arrestee. However, critics of the program charge that it casts too broad a net, scooping up non-criminals, lawful immigrants, even victims of crime. California Attorney General Kamala Harris attempted to clear up longstanding confusion about the program last Tuesday when she issued a directive informing…

New York City Council to Consider 2 Bills Limiting Deportations

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Two bills that members of the New York City Council plan to propose on Thursday would place further limits on the city’s cooperation with federal authorities seeking to detain and deport immigrants. The bills come in response to Se Communities, a federal immigration-enforcement plan that has been criticized by immigrants’ advocates, order civil liberties lawyers and elected officials in the state and across the country. If they pass, the laws will reaffirm the city’s reputation as one of the most immigrant-friendly municipalities in the nation, though the bill also risks provoking a confrontation with the Obama administration. “What we don’t want is New York City’s agencies having to participate in deporting people who present no risk and in fact may be adding a great deal to the City of New York,” Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker and lead sponsor on one of the bills, said in an interview Wednesday.

Rights Groups Demand Termination of Controversial 287(g) Deportation Program

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 Urge President to End Instead of Expand 287(g), Honor Promises of Reform   Washington, DC 12.13.12  Today rights groups across the country are participating on a national call-in day to the White House urging the Administration to terminate the fundamentally flawed 287(g) deportation program instead of expanding it to 11 new counties.  On the heels of…