Illinois Tries to Opt Out of Federal Deportation Program

Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Illinois wants out of a supposedly voluntary federal program in which state law enforcement agencies inform immigration agents about illegal immigrants who have committed crimes. But the Obama administration is refusing to let Illinois out of the program, saying in effect that it’s not voluntary after all.
 
Governor Pat Quinn informed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in a May 4 letter that state police were requesting to withdraw from the Secure Communities program operated by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) service. That program, which involves the sharing of fingerprints, resulted in the deportation of 72,000 people from the U.S. last year.
 
Officials in Illinois and other states have questioned the purpose of Secure Communities, which ICE says is all about getting rid of dangerous illegal immigrants who have been convicted of serious crimes. But Quinn stated in his letter that 30% those deported had never been convicted of any crime, much less a serious one, and that only 20% of those deported from Illinois had been convicted of serious crimes. Consequently, Quinn called the program “flawed.”
 
Last month, U.S. Representative Zoe Lofgren of California demanded an investigation into Secure Communities, claiming Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano and other DHS officials had provided “dishonest” communication about the program. DHS responded to Lofgren by saying local governments could opt out.
 
But that is apparently not the case, because DHS has told Illinois it can’t withdraw from Secure Communities.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
 
Letter to Homeland Security (Illinois Governor Pat Quinn) (pdf)

Comments

Deb 12 years ago
quinn is another unpatriotic traitor to legal americans. illinois is overrun with illegals, determined to be around 500,000 but he still does not want them held accountable for their crimes. i guess he sees nothing wrong with being illegal, using fake or stolen id and ss#'s, prob not paying payroll taxes, driving with no license or insurance and all the other laws the illegals break. not to mention, their fingerprints wouldn't be checked if they weren't already being arrested for some other crime. just how many crimes do illegals have to break before you think they should be deported? i think it was all a ploy to drop sec-comm, to kiss the azz of illegals, since there is no opt-out. how many millions of $$ is illinois wasting on illegals, when the state is on the verge of bankruptcy? you can pay $8 billion in bills due but you can pay for illegals and anchor babies. when will you rescind the "sanctuary" status of il? sir, you are a complete insult to illinois and should resign as you are a traitor and have broken your oath to proteect the legal citizens of your state. loser!!

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