Montgomery to Join Jail-Based Deportation Program

After more than two years of public outcry, political wrangling and postponement, a controversial jail-based deportation program will take effect next week in Montgomery County and Baltimore City, the final two Maryland jurisdictions not already taking part.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement notified Montgomery County officials earlier this week of the Feb. 22 launch for the “Secure Communities” program, which aims to more quickly and accurately identify the deportable immigrants among everyone arrested and fingerprinted in Montgomery County jails.

With a simultaneous launch in Baltimore City, all of Maryland will have joined in since the program arrived in Prince George's County at the end of 2009.

Under Secure Communities, the fingerprints of all arrestees are checked against a federal database of known illegal immigrants and legal immigrants who have committed deportable offenses.

Created in 2008, the program now includes roughly 1,500 jurisdictions across the country, with nationwide coverage planned by next year.

Montgomery County was supposed to be among the first Maryland jurisdictions with Secure Communities, but ICE rolled it out in Prince George’s County in December 2009 then Frederick, Queen Anne’s and St. Mary’s counties in April 2010. Montgomery County and Baltimore City became Maryland's final two holdouts when Allegany, Garrett, Washington and Wicomico counties joined in April 2011.

Last spring, ICE set Montgomery's launch for Sept. 27, but pushed that back indefinitely to revise its deployment schedule.

On Tuesday, the coordinator of ICE’s Baltimore field office notified Montgomery County Sheriff Darren Popkin, who then circulated the email to police, prosecutors and other top county officials.

“Exactly as expected,” said Art Wallenstein, director of the Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation. “ICE always told us that at some point in 2012 this would be rolled out to all counties.”

In 2010, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett explored the possibility of abstaining from Secure Communities. After months of analysis, Leggett decided the county could not hold out. Leggett (D) has since said that the county was ready for Secure Communities whenever ICE was.

“The county has no choice. We will comply,” Leggett spokesman Patrick Lacefield wrote in an email to Patch on Thursday.

Immigrant advocates and members of the County Council members pushed Leggett in April to refuse the program, as Washington, D.C. has done. In May, the council passed a watered-down resolution asking that ICE focus on serious criminals.

County Council President Roger Berliner declined to comment on Thursday afternoon. Councilwoman Nancy Navarro—who led the push against the program and drafted the resolution—could not be immediately reached.

Secure Communities will not alter the county’s arrest procedures “in any way,” wrote John Alderman, director of ICE's Baltimore field office, wrote in this week's message to Montgomery officials. The sole difference is that the FBI will forward the fingerprints to the Department of Homeland Security to search in an immigration database called the Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT) System.

When the fingerprints match IDENT records, ICE agents make a case-by-case determination whether to flag the arrestee for deportation. Relevant factors include family ties, how long they’ve been in the U.S., significant medical and mental health issues, criminal record, previous deportation and outstanding removal orders, Alderman wrote.

Critics have blasted Secure Communities for too often straying from its stated goal of identifying only the most dangerous criminals. President Barack Obama directed ICE to reform the program last year to prevent the deportation of victims and witnesses and to hone in on the most serious offenders.

“High priority” cases include: immigrants with criminal convictions, “recent illegal border crossers, immigration fugitives, and repeat immigration law violators,” Alderman wrote.

“This prioritization, however, does not mean ICE will decline to remove other aliens identified through Secure Communities who are present in the United States without lawful authority.”