Napalitano Confirms: Local Communities Can Opt Out of Secure Communities

From Deportation Nation:

We recently asked, “Is it Really Possible to Opt-Out of Secure Communities?”

Now Deportation Nation has learned that Department of Homeland Security head Janet Napolitano confirmed the opt-out process in letter sent Sept. 7 to Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA).

Napolitano’s letter comes in response to an inquiry made by Lofgren in a July 27 letter to Napolitano and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder about confusion over the opt-out process.

“The highest authority at the Department of Homeland Security has confirmed an opt out process,” said Sarahi Uribe, coordinator of a national campaign to stop Secure Communities called “Uncover the Truth.”

Secure Communities began enlisting local law enforcement agencies to share arrest data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in October 2008. A lawsuit filed this year by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), Cardozo Law School and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network sought the release of information about the program.

“It’s a shame that in spite of Obama’s pledge of transparency, it took litigation and public pressure for Napolitano to clarify her agency’s position,” said CCR staff attorney Sunita Patel.

Napolitano’s letter confirms a process described in a memo ICE released in late August. Click here for the rest of the piece.

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