Immigrant activists protest state's move into 'secure communities'
 

Immigrant activists protest state's move into 'secure communities'
By Matt Murphy
State House News Service
Posted Dec 22, 2010 @ 05:12 PM
Cambridge —
Immigrant activists rallied Wednesday in opposition to Gov. Deval Patrick's declared intention to sign on to the Secure Communities program, a federal initiative that would use locally gathered fingerprinting information to verify the immigration status of those arrested in Massachusetts.
After holding a rally on the steps of the capitol, the group of about 30 protesters descended on the governor's third floor office to deliver a letter to Patrick calling on him to oppose Secure Communities.
"The goal is to detain and deport criminals, but our own statistics show that they are deporting people without criminal records, criminalizing the presence of undocumented immigrants in our society. We are not criminals. We are workers," said Patricia Montes, executive director of Centro Presente.
Patrick last week announced his intention to sign on to the Obama administration's efforts to expand the Secure Communities program nationwide by 2013, arguing that despite concerns with the program it would be better to have a seat as at the table as the initiative is planned and rolled out.
The Patrick administration said that federal officials have told the state the program is not optional, and will be implemented with or without the state's approval.
Centro Presente has mounted a campaign called "Just Communities/Comunidades Justas" with backing from the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts "to educate the Latino immigrant community and its allies about the effects of this program."
Montes was joined at the rally by Rev. Fred Small, the senior minister at First Parish in Cambridge, and Gabriel Camacho, the president of Centro Presente and regional director of Project Voice for the American Friends Service Committee.
As the crowd chanted "Police State? No. Democracy? Yes.," Montes noted that the immigrant community stood behind Patrick during his recent campaign for re-election.
"Before the election the governor was calling us, and now we are calling him," Montes said. "Why did he pass this after the election? That isn't fair."
Richard Chacon, the director of the state's Office of for Refugees and Immigrants, shuffled through the crowd with other officials from the Office of Public Safety into the governor's office before coming out to meet with the protestors and accept their letter on behalf of Patrick, who was not in the building.
"We expect that this is going to be an ongoing conversation. Nothing has been signed. Nothing is going to be signed in the immediate. We want to have input. We want to have conversations and dialogues with all of you about your concerns," Chacon told the protestors.
The state declared its intention to sign a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, but Patrick officials said the conversations with ICE were just beginning. The program would explicitly authorize ICE to access the F.B.I.'s database of fingerprints of arrested criminals to verify their immigration status. Those fingerprints are sent to the F.B.I. by state and local police making arrests in Massachusetts.
Chacon told the protesters that the governor's office would work with the groups to arrange a meeting to discuss concerns with the implementation of the program.
"We appreciate you," Chacon said. "The governor and all of us in the administration feel very strongly about the contributions our immigrant families and communities make to the well-being of the entire state."
http://www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge...re-communities