Congressman Criticizes "Secure Communities"

On December 9, 2011, Congressman Adam Smith responded to concerns from constituents and OneAmerica members in criticizing Secure Communities. Echoing the concerns of civil rights groups, law enforcement, and other public officials around the nation, the US House representative from Washington's 9th congressional district wrote a public letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano calling for changes to the problematic program run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in collaboration with local law enforcement.

"Secure Communities" has not only failed at achieving its goal of targeting high-risk criminal offenders, but has furthered distrust between immigrant communities and law enforcement. This mistrust jeopardizes public safety for everyone. OneAmerica applauds Congressman Smith for highlighting these negative repercussions in his letter and urges Secretary Napolitano to implement improvements. 

The full text of the letter is below. 

The Honorable Janet Napolitano
Secretary of Homeland Security
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, D.C. 20528

Dear Secretary Napolitano,

I am writing in regards to the Secure Communities program administered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  Specifically, I am concerned about the focus of this program and compelling local and state law enforcement agencies to participate in it.  I believe that together, these issues are having unintended negative impacts on the relationships between immigrant communities and law enforcement agencies.

I applaud your efforts in creating the Task Force on Secure Communities, a subcommittee of the Homeland Security Advisory Council, earlier this year.  Charged with improving the Secure Communities program, examining at community policing strategies and focusing on individuals’ public safety and national security risks, the Task Force submitted its report and recommendations for review in September. 

The report issued by the Task Force echoes many of the concerns I have heard from my constituents about Secure Communities.  This program’s stated goal is to streamline immigration enforcement and focus on the deportation of high-risk immigrants.  However, in practice, the Secure Communities program has had significant negative consequences on the relationship between law enforcement agencies and immigrant communities.

As you review the report and implement its recommendations and other improvements, I encourage you to focus on two aspects.  First, I would encourage your Department to apply this program fairly and in accordance with its purpose of prioritizing removal of individuals who have been convicted of major drug offenses, national security crimes, and violent crimes.  Second, local and state participation in this program should only continue through a cooperative and coordinated effort, rather than by forced participation, and carried out in accordance with proper legal authority.

Immigration enforcement is first and foremost the responsibility of the Federal government.  Partnerships between the Federal government and local and state agencies can be a useful tool, but a mandatory partnership that fosters mistrust between local communities and law enforcement is not, and will not be productive.

I strongly believe success of Secure Communities will not be measured by the extent of nationwide participation, but by how effectively it is implemented and how well it fosters continued trust between local communities and law enforcement.  I look forward to your analysis of the Task Force report and future plans you have to implement its recommendations.

Thank you for your consideration of my concerns.

Congressman Adam Smith