Police defend status checks
Hub arrestee scrutiny, part of US program, alarms immigrants
| Edward F. Davis, the Boston police commissioner, said the program helps get criminals off the city’s streets. |
E-mail this article
Sending your article
Your article has been sent.
Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis, a strong critic of using police to enforce immigration laws, yesterday defended the city’s participation in a controversial federal program that automatically checks the immigration status of everyone arrested.
The goal of the controversial program, called Secure Communities, is to identify dangerous criminals and turn them over to the US Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement for eventual deportation.
Advocates warn that noncriminals are being swept up at the same time.
But Davis said his staff reviewed the list of people caught through the program over the past two years and determined that all of those turned over to immigration officials met the goal of removing gang members and other criminals from the streets.
“We’ve looked into each and every one of the cases, and we’re satisfied that the promise we made to the community still stands,’’ said Davis yesterday in his first interview on the matter. “We’ve made clear that if ICE begins to deport people who are simply being picked up for traffic violations and overstaying their visas, then we’re not going to participate in the program.’’
Many advocates for immigrants, however, say the program will deter immigrants from reporting crimes because they fear police.
“How can the Boston police say that this is going to give us more security?’’ said Patricia Montes, executive director of Centro Presente, an area nonprofit. “People are going to be afraid to report crimes. That means that crime will be occurring, and immigrants will be afraid to go to the police.’’
The controversy is unexpected in a city that is widely viewed as friendly to all immigrants and where 27.5 percent of the residents are foreign born.
Earlier this year the City Council passed a resolution boycotting Arizona because of its new immigration law.
In one of his first acts as commissioner in 2006, Davis decried a plan by Governor Mitt Romney to have State Police help enforce immigration law, saying that “expanding immigration enforcement to local police would have an overall negative effect on the department’s continued efforts to enhance community trust.’’
Federal statistics indicate that the Boston program has snared both violent and nonviolent offenders.
Of the 230 people turned over to ICE since the program began in 2008, nearly half had been convicted of crimes: 53 were violent offenders, such as murderers, rapists, and those who pose a threat to national security; 32 had committed a felony such as property crime or extortion; and 20 had multiple misdemeanor convictions, including minor drug offenses and disorderly conduct.
The remainder had been arrested for noncriminal immigration violations. Almost half have been deported.
But Davis said they were all involved in criminal activity, including those with criminal records from other states.
Advocates for immigrants, many of whom were unaware of the program until a WBUR report last month, are going on the offensive to protest the program.
Centro Presente, working with the ACLU of Massachusetts, will be rolling out educational seminars next month and publicizing the program on Spanish and Portuguese language radio stations.
Heloisa Galvao, head of the Brazilian Women’s Group in Allston, said a woman came to her recently after her husband was placed in deportation proceedings after being stopped by the Boston police. His family and those helping him could not figure out why. Now, she said, she believes it was because of Secure Communities.
“It’s horrible,’’ she said. “I felt like I was betrayed because we have always been told that the Boston police did not participate in this kind of program, so that’s what we have been telling our community, that Boston is not that bad.’’
But others say it is crucial for federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to collaborate with one another to fight gangs, crime, and terrorism.
“I think it’s a really good idea,’’ said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, which favors stricter controls on immigration. “I can’t think of any good reason to be opposed to it.’’
Davis said that the Secure Communities program is different from Romney’s program, which sought to have state troopers actively enforce immigration law. He said Boston police do not seek out immigrants and only hand over those whom federal officials request.
Boston piloted the program starting in September 2006, two months before Davis became commissioner, as a way to ensure that they were properly identifying everyone who was taken into custody.
The fledgling program was publicized at that time as a pilot designed to catch suspects wanted for serious immigration violations.
Since then, anyone who is arrested, including native-born Americans, has been checked through criminal and immigration databases. Federal immigration officials are automatically notified if someone is wanted for immigration violations, and it is up to federal officials to pick them up.
In 2008, the pilot morphed into a national program called Secure Communities, which now exists in 617 jurisdictions across the United States.
The Obama administration hopes to take it nationwide by 2013. Boston is the only one enrolled in Massachusetts.
Bruce Chadbourne, director of ICE’s enforcement and removal operations in New England, said Secure Communities follows a national mandate for better coordination among all law enforcement officials.
“It’s basically a one-stop shopping process where you run one check and it’s run through all these databases and you get the information back so you know exactly who you’re dealing with,’’ he said.
Boston is “not expected to enforce immigration laws,’’ he said. “That’s our responsibility. We’re communicating, as all law enforcement — federal, state and local — should be doing. And if we don’t, shame on us.’’
Maria Cramer of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Maria Sacchetti can be reached at msacchetti@globe.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment