One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.
Homeland Security inspectors release a pair of reports on Secure Communities
Protesters with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) hold signs during an anti-Secure Communities program demonstration in L.A. last year.
(
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
)
Listen
1:25
Homeland Security inspectors release a pair of reports on Secure Communities
The federal immigration enforcement program supported by Sheriff Lee Baca and used in county jails has faced growing local opposition in the past two years. Now Secure Communities is facing scrutiny from the feds themselves.
Two recent internal reports question whether the Department failed to communicate early on whether states and counties had any choice in joining Secure Communities. Another addresses whether the enforcement program has been effective.
The reports were a response to Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren from San Jose, a critic of the program.
The way Secure Communities works is simple: when a person is booked into county jail, the detainee’s fingerprint information is shared with immigration authorities. If the person is in the country illegally, deportation proceedings could begin immediately.
The Department of Homeland Security launched Secure Communities in 2008 in only 14 counties, including Southern California, with plans to expand it to every county in the nation by early 2013. But since its launch, the program has been plagued by controversy.
While it has been responsible for a sharp rise in deportations of criminal immigrants, it's also deported huge numbers of unauthorized immigrants with no criminal records — some who have U.S.-born children. In L.A., as well as in other communities around the country, Secure Communities has led to many immigrants hesitating to report crimes to police in fear of having their status questioned.
In its defense, the Department of Homeland Security says the agency badly handled the expansion of Secure Communities — but it has learned some lessons and continues to stand behind the program.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
