From the Restore Fairness blog-

In May 2010, New York State signed onto the “Secure Communities” program in which local police send fingerprints of all arrestees to federal immigration databases, with immigrants who are found “deportable” being directly pushed into the deeply flawed detention and deportation system.

When a state signs onto the Secure Communities program, all local law enforcement in that state has to do is arrest someone on a traffic or other offense, and their fingerprints will be checked against immigration databases during booking. When the fingerprint scan gets a “hit,” immigrants can end up getting carted off by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to an immigration detention center. If they get out on bond, ICE can take them into custody, leaving their criminal cases unresolved. It doesn’t matter if the person was innocent of a criminal charge or if the arrest was a pretext to check immigration status.

Besides eroding community trust with the police, the program has criminalized the immigration detention system with a majority of those caught identified for minor crimes or U.S. citizens. An FOI found that Secure Communities has “misidentified more than 5,800 arrested U.S. citizens as undocumented workers” since 2008. Available evidence shows little accountability and transparency, yet a whopping $200 million has been allocated to Secure Communities, with an eye toward establishing it nationwide in every jail by late 2012. In addition to adding to the financial burden of the state, this costly program will endanger our communities, encourage racial profiling and separate families.

Join us at a rally tomorrow in New York to demand that Governor Paterson terminate Secure Communities. New York State should not cooperate with immigration in denying people fairness. When we deny fairness to some, we put all of our rights at risk.

Do come and show your support.

When: Thursday, December 9, 2010, 11:00 AM
Where: In front of Governor Paterson’s Manhattan office, 633 3rd Ave (between 40th and 41st streets), New York, NY

In another update, Congress is voting on the DREAM Act today. If passed, it could positively impact the lives of 2.1 million young people in the United States.

Take action now  to help pass this act.

Learn. Share. Act. Go to restorefairness.org