Berkeley Joins SF, Santa Clara, and Arlington in Opposing

ICE's So-Called Secure Communities Program

Berkeley, CA -- On Tuesday evening, December 14th, the Berkeley City Council voted to request to opt-out of the Secure Communities (S-Comm) program.  Berkeley has long been a Sanctuary City, and in taking this step, Berkeley affirms its proud tradition of protecting human rights. Sister Maureen Duignan, Executive Director, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant says, "The Secure Communities Program undercuts the City of Berkeley's long standing 'City of Refuge' status which has been highly respected by the residents of Berkeley. " Sister Maureen reminds us that, "It is in the shelter of each other that the people live."

S-Comm requires that local police provide to ICE the fingerprint of every person it books, no matter the alleged offense or whether the charge is dismissed.  ICE uses these fingerprints to conduct immigration background checks and to initiate deportation proceedings at a rapid pace.  

Civil rights advocates have expressed serious concerns that its implementation could lead to racial profiling and the separation of families.  Shahid Buttar, Executive Director, Bill of Rights Defense Committee says, "It's encouraging to see the Berkeley City Council refuse to participate in an ill-conceived federal program known for encouraging ethnic profiling and pretextual arrests.  Hopefully, the Council will also take this opportunity -- provided in the resolution that it chose for now to set aside -- to address profiling of marginalized communities in the various other ways it occurs."

Angela Chan, staff attorney at the Asian Law Caucus, applauded the City Council for passing the resolution.  She states, "In requesting to opt out of S-Comm, Berkeley recognizes that public safety is endangered when police become entangled with immigration enforcement.  Immigrant members of the community who are witnesses to or victims of crime cannot come forward if contact with police could quickly lead to reporting to ICE and thereby deportations.  This is particularly problematic for immigrant victims of domestic violence who want to come forward, but cannot out of fear of being reported to ICE."

In fact, ICE's own data shows that close to 80 percent of those deported through the program have no convictions or committed minor offenses.  Secure Communities, which now operates in 788 jurisdictions in 34 states, has deported almost 50,000 people as of August 2010.

Sharon Adams, a Berkeley attorney on the Executive Board of the National Lawyers Guild-SFBA chapter, says, "Berkeley now joins a growing number of counties and cities that are standing up to ICE's so-called Secure Communities program.  Statistics show that many innocent people are ensnared by the ICE program, and that the program is really about creating a climate of fear." 

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About The Asian Law Caucus:

The Asian Law Caucus was founded in 1972 as the nation's first legal and civil rights Asian American organization.   Recognizing that social, economic, political and racial inequalities continue to exist in the United States, ALC is committed to the pursuit of equality and justice for all sectors of our society, with a specific focus directed toward addressing the needs of low-income, immigrant and underserved Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The Asian Law Caucus is a member of the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice.