10:31 AM
CAUSA Communications Department
Hispanic Affairs Commission calls for end to Sheriff’s Office collaboration with ICE
Portland, Ore. -- The Oregon Commission on Hispanic Affairs (OCHA) has sent a letter to Chair Jeff Cogan of the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners expressing concerns over the Multnomah Co. Sheriff's Office’s participation in the "Secure Communities" Program. This voluntary collaboration, they say, “has diminished trust in law enforcement and other County services”, and has “degraded public safety”.
The “Secure Communities” program allows state and local police to check the fingerprints of an individual they are booking into a jail against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) immigration databases. If there is a “hit” in an immigration database, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is automatically notified, even if the person has not been convicted of any criminal act.
The critical problem with this program is that immigrant communities that know or believe police are involved with ICE are less likely to go to police for assistance. Crimes go unreported and victims go unprotected when entire communities fear the police. Even legal immigrants fear cooperating with or seeking help from law enforcement if they fear they could somehow be placed into removal proceedings, or if they have family members who are undocumented.
Portland, Ore. -- The Oregon Commission on Hispanic Affairs (OCHA) has sent a letter to Chair Jeff Cogan of the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners expressing concerns over the Multnomah Co. Sheriff's Office’s participation in the "Secure Communities" Program. This voluntary collaboration, they say, “has diminished trust in law enforcement and other County services”, and has “degraded public safety”.
The “Secure Communities” program allows state and local police to check the fingerprints of an individual they are booking into a jail against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) immigration databases. If there is a “hit” in an immigration database, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is automatically notified, even if the person has not been convicted of any criminal act.
The critical problem with this program is that immigrant communities that know or believe police are involved with ICE are less likely to go to police for assistance. Crimes go unreported and victims go unprotected when entire communities fear the police. Even legal immigrants fear cooperating with or seeking help from law enforcement if they fear they could somehow be placed into removal proceedings, or if they have family members who are undocumented.
