Massachusetts Green-Rainbow Party
Contacts:
Michael Horan, Co-Chair, 617-515-2139 or Jill Stein, Co-Chair, 781-674-1377

December 21, 2010

BOSTON - Labeling the Deval Patrick administration's decision to sign on to the "Secure Communities Act" as a mistake, the Green-Rainbow Party declared its unequivocal support for efforts by the immigrant group Centro Presente to halt harsh police enforcement against "undocumented" immigrants.

Noting that criticism of the Secure Communities Act has come from The New York Times, the Congressional General Accounting Office, law enforcement officials, and city councils across the countr, the Green-Rainbow Party called upon Governor Patrick to reconsider his commitment to the federal mandate. According to the Green-Rainbow leaders, the measure has flagrantly missed its stated priority of targeting violent criminals, resulting instead in the harassment, detention, and deportation of many non-criminals. It has also stripped local law enforcement agencies of their right to adopt more flexible ways of dealing with immigrant issues within their own jurisdiction.

According to Green-Rainbow Party co-chair Michael Horan, "The Secure Communities initiative was created to ensure that dangerous (`Level 1') criminals would face additional scrutiny by ICE, resulting in their possible deportation. In practice, however, more than half of those deported following ICE investigations in Boston have turned out be non-criminals. One credible report notes that `traffic violators and day laborers' have become the central target of this operation. The system is not only misleading and unjust, but creates a barrier between local police and the very people they are entrusted to serve and protect. Safe, strong, and secure communities do not arise from policies that sow fear and distrust."