Despite efforts by local and national advocates and activists, the Secure Communities deportation program will go into effect in New York and other states tomorrow.
S-Comm is a Department of Homeland Security program that requires states to identify immigrants for deportation. While NY governor Cuomo and other governors across the country have expressed concerns regarding the difference between what how DHS says the program is implemented and what statistics show regarding the deportation of non-criminal undocumented immigrants. There have been mixed messages and allegations of a cover up regarding the mandatory nature of the program. The intense roll out of the program despite complaints and protests seems to make the mandatory nature of the program clear.
Given the latest report of racial profiling by the New York City Police Department which showed that 87 percent of those stopped were blacks and Latino, the implementation of S-Comm especially in urban areas with large immigrant populations is extremely concerning. Immigrants account for more than one-third of the city’s residents and 29% of all voters in New York.
While the federal government attempts to make an example of Arizona by challenging parts of SB1070 in the Supreme Court and by suing Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio for racial profiling, it continues to fast track a program that has contributed to racial profiling.
