Quinn Backs Out of Secure Communities

Gov. Quinn sent a letter to ICE yesterday stating that Illinois will withdraw from the Secure Communities program, saying that it the program is flawed and citing a conflict between its mission and the results of implementation. The Secure Communities program is a controversial federal program that calls for an automatic check of immigration status of anyone arrested by local or state police. According to the Tribune, the program is in effect in 1,200 jurisdictions in 42 states.

Opponents to the Secure Communities program mainly criticize its effectiveness in its mission to remove level 1 offenders convicted of major violent crimes. Fox News Latino reports that 31 percent of people deported nationally through the program were convicted of misdemeanors, while 29 percent had no criminal record. The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition obtained the figures through a FOIA request.