A federal program aimed at identifying illegal immigrants who are arrested for crimes expanded to Vermont on Tuesday, touching off opposition from advocacy groups for immigrants. Those groups say the Se Communities program was implemented by the federal government in Vermont without consulting state officials, and they fear it will help destroy a trust that most of the state’s law enforcement community has worked to build with the immigrant community. The nationwide program, now in 46 states and Puerto Rico, enables police to check the immigration status of suspected illegal immigrants by sharing their fingerprints with the Department of Homeland Security. The group Migrant Justice held a protest outside the Vermont campaign headquarters of President Barack Obama in Burlington on Tuesday afternoon with about 40 people. They started to march shortly before 6 p.m.

Read more http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20120522/NEWS03/120522023/Vermont-now-part-of-feds-Se-Communities-program

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