Somerville Mayor to Sign Order Limiting ICE Holds

 

National contact: B Loewe, NDLON, 773-791-4668

Somerville Mayor to Sign Order Limiting ICE Holds, First in Massachusetts to Join National Trend Against Federal S-Comm Program

S-Comm is a “wall between police and community” says Police Chief

“All eyes on Massachusetts” as immigrant communities look to other localities to follow suit

May 22, 2014, Boston, Massachusetts——Wednesday, the Mayor of Somerville, Massachusetts, Joseph Curtatone, announced he will sign an executive order limiting local application of ICE holds, one component of the controversial Se Communities program (S-Comm), at a signing ceremony on Thursday at 5:30pm Eastern. The announcement comes one week after President Obama and DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson announced they would take a “fresh look” at the deportation dragnet program—widely criticized for contributing to rampant racial profiling and an unprecedented level of deportations.

Landmark $1.2 Million Fee Settlement in Immigration Policy FOIA Case

June 28, 2013, New York – The day after the Senate passed a disappointing immigration reform bill, the U.S. government agreed to pay over $1.2 million in attorneys’ fees in the historic Freedom of Information (FOIA) lawsuit NDLON v. ICE. Rights groups brought the case in 2010 to force the government to turn over documents about the so-called Se Communities (SCOMM) program. Since its rollout in 2008, SCOMM has spread nationwide, over the protests of local and state leaders, and contributed to the Obama administration’s widely criticized, record-setting deportation numbers.  Through SCOMM, the federal government targets all people booked into local jails, regardless of how minor the charges, even if charges are dropped, which has resulted in widespread

House Appropriations for 2014 Homeland Security Budget Exposes Beltway Hypocrisy

  House Appropriations for 2014 Homeland Security Budget Exposes Beltway Hypocrisy As Congress Seeks Immigration Reform, DHS Budgets for Increased Detention   05.22.2013 – Washington, DC The day after the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the “Gang of 8” immigration reform proposal to move to the Senate floor, the House Appropriations Committee approved the Department of Homeland…

CA Assembly passes bill to restore trust in police, curb deportations as national immigration reform debate intensifies

 

 
TRUST Act heads to state Senate in wake of findings that police involvement in deportation has made crime victims less likely to seek help

Sacramento – Today, following several impassioned floor speeches, the California Assembly approved the TRUST Act (AB 4 – Ammiano) by a vote of 44 to 20. The nationally-watched bill would limit harmful deportations often stemming from trivial or discriminatory arrests and rebuild community confidence in local law enforcement.

The vote comes days after an unprecedented survey of Latinos in four cities, including Los Angeles, confirmed that police involvement with immigration enforcement has significantly undermined community confidence, with 44% of responds less likely to contact police officers if they have been a victim of a crime. Among undocumented immigrants, 70% were less likely to contact law enforcement.

Lawsuit Filed Against Federal Agencies to Uncover Possible Influence on Immigration Bill

 Freedom of Information Act Suit to Shed Light on Tactics to Halt California TRUST Act

SAN FRANCISCO, April 9, 2013—The Asian Law Cacus, a legal and civil rights organization serving low-income Asian Pacific American communities, has sued federal immigration authorities for information about whether they helped defeat a bill meant to limit entanglement between California law enforcement and U.S. immigration agencies.

The lawsuit seeks information from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency and the Department of Homeland Security under the Freedom of Information Act about possible efforts to encourage the Governor’s office and state sheriff’s association to oppose the TRUST Act, AB-4.

Had the TRUST Act passed last year, it would have restricted California’s involvement in the Se Communities program, which relies on local police to hold individuals suspected of being deportable upon arrest until ICE can pick them up for possible deportation. Last summer, the bill reached Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk with robust support from both legislative houses, but he vetoed it. 

Massachusetts Joins States Seeking TRUST to Protect Families and to Move Immigration Reform Forward

 

Immigrant Communities Rallied Today in Support of the TRUST Act authored by Sen. Eldridge & Rep. Sciortino

 

03.20.2013

Boston, MA – 

 

As momentum for federal immigration reform grows, Massachusetts is set to lead the nation by advancing the TRUST act, a state bill to provide immediate relief from deportations, strengthen public safety, and propel the national conversation on immigration reform towards inclusion.  Specifically the bill sets a clear standard for local law enforcement agencies not to submit to burdensome requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) most often prompted by the Se Communities (S-Comm) program to detain people for deportation who have otherwise been ordered released by the courts. The bill is authored by Sen. Eldridge in the Senate and Rep. Sciortino in the House and was introduced with 34 cosponsors.

Judge Approves Landmark Settlement in Immigration Policy Case

FBI, DHS and ICE Agree to Release Crucial Documents Relating to Controversial

Deportation Dragnet Program, Se Communities

 

March 15, 2013, New York – Last night, a federal judge approved a settlement between the government and several rights groups in a long-running lawsuit demanding transparency in the controversial Se Communities (SCOMM) program.

Since its rollout in 2008, SCOMM has spread nationwide, over the protests of local and state leaders, contributing to the Obama administration’s widely criticized, record-setting deportation numbers.  The program targets all people booked into local jails, regardless of how minor the charges or even if no charges are pressed at all. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has recently come under fire for revelations that it has trolled state agencies and local jails looking for low-level offenders so as to meet its arbitrary criminal deportation quotas.     

New Data Sparks Anger: almost 2,000 Californians deported through S-Comm in January

Statistics reveal failure of ICE’s latest guidelines, add urgency to passage of TRUST Act  March 11, 2013 – An analysis of new data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has found that 1,941 Californians were deported in the first month of 2013 alone, an alarming figure that would have been significantly lower were the TRUST Act already signed into law. The…

State TRUST Acts & NYC Bills to Protect Against Record Breaking Deportations, Set Direction for National Reform

Revelations of Deportation Quota and Widespread Detainer Requests Spur Local Policies to Restore Trust and Safety, Protect Immigrant Residents   States and cities across the country are taking the initiative to use their constitutional powers to improve public safety and advance the inclusion of their immigrant residents by limiting ICE’s overreaching hold requests. New bills are expected to pass New…

In Response to ICE’s Reported Release of Detainees, NDLON Calls for End to Police/ICE Collaboration Programs

Nation Cannot Afford Immigration Policy Driven by Politically Motivated Deportation Quota   February 26, 2013 – Los Angeles, CA In response to the news of ICE releasing some detainees as it undergoes a review related to budget considerations, Pablo Alvarado, Executive Director of NDLON issued the following statement:   “We cannot afford morally to be a society where immigration policy…