By Matt O'Brien Contra Costa Times Posted: 02/25/2011
MARTINEZ -- The federal immigration agency has finally linked all California police agencies to reveal immigrants -- legal or not -- arrested for violating laws and subject to deportation.
The action, to be announced Friday morning in Southern California, enables U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, to tag arrests and travel to all of the state's county jails to pick up immigrants accused of committing crimes.
In essence, local police, willingly or not, have become an arm of the federal immigration agency.
The fingerprints of everyone arrested by local police are now sent automatically to an electronic database reviewed by ICE, whose agents go to county jails to pick up immigrants thought to be deportable, including illegal immigrants and legal immigrants who may have committed a crime.
Here are a few links about S-Comm:
So You *Can* Opt Out of Secure Communities Fingerprinting Program. Will San Francisco Be Allowed?
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Local officials are awaiting a response to San Francisco Sheriff Michael Hennessey's letter yesterday, which once again asked federal immigration officials to allow San Francisco to opt out of the fingerprint ID program that targets illegal immigrants booked into jail.
