U.S. to investigate Secure Communities Deportation Program

Secure Communities is a controversial program, which some local law enforcement officials believe is a legitimate way of dealing with criminal undocumented immigrants however, immigration advocates and Congressional Democrats have become increasingly wary of the program as they feel that it may lead to racial profiling.

Recently Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Enforcement  wrote a letter to the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General to request an investigation into the program. Lee Romney of The Los Angeles Times has the full story here:

The Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General plans an investigation of an immigration enforcement program that purports to target "serious convicted felons" for deportation but has ensnared many illegal immigrants who were arrested but not subsequently convicted of crimes or who committed minor offenses, a letter obtained Wednesday shows.

The Inspector Generals Review aims to: "determine the extent to which ICE uses the program to identify and remove dangerous criminal aliens from the United States."  The Program it self seems like a good idea in theory:

Under the program, fingerprints routinely sent by local jails to the FBI for criminal background checks are shared with ICE. Although local law enforcement does not actively participate, the program has turned jails in about 1,200 U.S. counties into immigration screening centers. All 58 California counties are on board, though San Francisco and Santa Clara sought unsuccessfully to opt out.

Proponents are quick to ponit out that the program is showing results:

Proponents, including Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, say the program is successfully targeting serious threats to public safety. According to ICE, about 28,000, or 35%, of the people deported so far had been convicted of felonies including murder and rape. An unknown number who appear in ICE data on the program as "noncriminals" or as having committed only misdemeanors had prior violent felonies here or in their home countries, or were previously deported and returned illegally, they note.

However detractors note that the program does not achieve the goals that it was designed for and is actually being used incorrectly:

But opponents contend that by also sweeping up minor offenders or those never convicted of crimes, the program is dissuading illegal immigrants from cooperating with law enforcement. ICE data show that about half those flagged for deportation since the program began were not convicted after their arrest or were convicted of misdemeanors. Immigrant rights groups also say the program has encouraged racial profiling, an allegation that recently prompted Homeland Security officials to hire an outside statistician to analyze the arrest data.