Why Deportation Rates have Increased – Understanding the “Secure Communities” Program

Over recent months I have noticed a great deal of chatter regarding the rate of Deportations in the U.S. under the Obama Administration. Various ICE reports confirm that 2009 and 2010 had the highest rate of Deportations in history. Some pundits are attempting to blame the President for this increase. I decided I wanted to find out the reasons for the increases. I studied ICE Reports and various programs so I could understand the root cause(s) for these increases. These in-depth studies have helped me understand the cause and develop recommendations detailing our (Latino Voters) approach for moving forward in this election year.

Starting today and over the next few days I am going to share the results of my findings.

Here are the subjects I will be covering:
1. Why Deportation Rates have Increased – Understanding the “Secure Communities” Program
2. What are the Flaws of the Secure Communities Program? Who Is Deporting Who and Why?
3. Keeping Secure Communities however Changing Key Aspects and the Politics of Change
4. What Questions should We Latino Voters be asking in the weeks and months ahead


Today’s Report: Why Deportation Rates have Increased – Understanding the “Secure Communities” Program


The Department of Homeland Security’s “Yearbook of Immigration Statistics” prove the deployment of a Homeland Security/ICE Program, “Secure Communities,” has resulted in a significant increase in the rate of Deportations of “Illegal Immigrants” starting in 2009.


When was the “Secure Communities” Program started and for what Purpose: In 2005, during the Bush Administration, the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS), Dept. of Justice (DOJ) and the Dept of State (DOS) collaborated to define a plan to integrate the Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT) and the Integrated Automated Fingerprinting System (IAFIS). Their plan was designed as a technological means to PROTECT the U.S. from further terror attacks.
In 2008, still under Bush’s term, this concept, the “Secure Communities” program, was initially rolled out. The program was established as a partnership between Federal, State and Local LAW ENFORCEMENT. The Goal of the Program is to Game Change the Law Enforcement process through Integration of Law Enforcement and Integrated Technology.


The Program Concept: Through the use of integrated technology, focus resources upon identifying and removing the most serious criminal offenders, first and foremost.

The Program Process: Fingerprints of those detained by local law enforcement are processed through the integrated IDENT(DHS)/IAFIS(DOJ-FBI) databases.

The plan, as designed, should help focus on removing dangerous, felonious criminals -- those that would never receive citizenship. However, for a number of reasons, this is not what happened. In the next blog on this subject, we'll discuss the Flaws of the program.