勛圖眻畦 Lens: Leaked Secure Communities Task Force Report Shows Program's Many Flaws
A on the Department of Homeland Security's Secure Communities reveals the program's many problems namely that it has led to the deportation of thousands of immigrants with no criminal records and undermines community policing efforts.
Secure Communities (S-Comm) is a federal program created by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Under S-Comm, anytime an individual is arrested and booked into a local jail for any reason, his or her fingerprints are electronically run through ICE's immigration database, allowing ICE to identify noncitizens in local custody and to initiate deportation proceedings against them.
The 勛圖眻畦 has long been critical of S-Comm, arguing that the program encourages racial profiling and undermines equal protection and due process rights.
The task force recommendations have done little to alleviate those concerns.
The 勛圖眻畦's Kate Desormeau says:
"Today's task force report documents countless problems present by S-Comm but fails to provide concrete recommendations to fix the program. If the Administration really wants to address the concerns of governors, law enforcement officials and community members about the damage to civil liberties and public safety that S-Comm inflicts, they would terminate this disastrous program."
S-Comm has been a centerpiece of the Obama administration as an effort to remove "the worst of the worst" immigrant criminals, but the task force report shows the program is much more far-reaching than that.
The task force was made up of law enforcement chiefs from four major cities, immigrant advocates and state homeland security officials. Divisions over the report have led to five of the 19 members to resign.
"Some thought the program was too deeply flawed to continue," Julia Preston writes in today's New York Times. "Others, especially the police officials, argued that information-sharing among law enforcement agencies under the program was too vital to halt."
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Press ReleaseJul 2025
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NEW ORLEANS A federal appeals court upheld an injunction late Thursday night against Senate Bill 4 (88-4), endorsing a district court order that prohibits the anti-immigration law from being enforced in a major win for immigrant rights. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with every court to have examined such laws that federal law leaves no space for this type of state immigration statute: For nearly 150 years, the Supreme Court has recognized that the power to control immigration the entry, admission, and removal of aliens is exclusively a federal power. S.B. 4s provisions rob every administration of the very discretion in alien removal matters that Congress granted to the federal executive and not to the States. The extreme Texas law criminalizes people who are undocumented from entering Texas from Mexico, attempting to wrest control of the immigration system from the federal government and allow local police officers to make arrests based on immigration status. It also purports to allow state officers to deport people. Texas had argued that it should prevail because the federal government, which had originally sued, dropped its case earlier this year. But the court of appeals confirmed that the private plaintiffs have standing to sue, and that S.B. 4 is unconstitutional. This decision extends a long and unbroken string of defeats that the courts have dealt to S.B. 4 and related laws in Florida, Oklahoma, Idaho, and Iowa. This includes appellate decisions from the Fifth, Eighth, the Eleventh Circuits. The ruling affirms the injunction, keeping S.B. 4 blocked during the remainder of the litigation. Oral arguments were held in front of the Fifth Circuit on April 3, 2024. Originally, a federal court granted a motion for preliminary injunction in February 2024, which was subsequently appealed by the state of Texas. Advocates have long warned that the laws implementation would lead to racial profiling, separating families, and harming Black and Brown communities across the state. The 勛圖眻畦, 勛圖眻畦 of Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project and El Paso County filed the lawsuit, arguing that S.B. 4 violates the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution and is preempted by federal law. The plaintiffs are Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, American Gateways, and El Paso County. Quotes from co-counsel are as follows: Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the 勛圖眻畦s Immigrants Rights Project, said: Courts around the country have repeatedly and emphatically rejected these state immigration laws. These illegal schemes violate 150 years of Supreme Court precedent and are deeply harmful to our communities. David Donatti, senior staff attorney at the 勛圖眻畦 of Texas, said: The Fifth Circuits decision affirms the longstanding and simple rule that the United States speaks with one voice about when and how to regulate immigration. S.B. 4 is plainly unconstitutional in all its applications, and it does not reflect the values of Texans. We are and always have been a border state. Immigrants belong here. Rochelle Garza, president of Texas Civil Rights Project, said: This ruling proves that no state, not even Texas, has the power to create its own immigration laws. The court has affirmed decades of precedent making clear that immigration is within the sole dominion of the federal government. S.B. 4 threatens to upend our Constitution, tear apart our democracy, and oppress our Texas communities through racial profiling. We, at the Texas Civil Rights Project, remain dedicated to protecting the constitutional rights of all Texans and stopping S.B. 4, or any law like it, from ever going into effect. Christina Sanchez, El Paso County Attorney, said: As the largest border county in the State of Texas, the County of El Paso has held steadfast in its opposition to this law because the county prioritizes pushing back on unconstitutional actions that seek to bankrupt our community and divert local law enforcement resources away from other priorities. We remain in this fight for justice and the rights of all individuals in our community and continue to urge the courts to uphold the protections guaranteed by the Constitution and to continue rejecting measures like S.B. 4 that undermine local law enforcement and create unfunded mandates for counties to handle federal immigration matters. Quotes from plaintiffs are as follows: Jennifer Babaie, director of Advocacy and Legal Services at Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, said: What this decision does is recognize the value of the work conducted daily by the staff of organizations like Las Americas. When government officers use their power to directly and illegally threaten immigrants, they not only place those individuals directly in harm's way, they also directly interfere with our ability to simply do our job and meet our mission to deliver quality legal services to the most vulnerable among us. As immigration advocates across the state and country have been saying for years, S.B. 4 is unconstitutional, out of touch, and dangerous. Even as we write this, baseless and violent attacks against immigrant communities continue. Our communities deserve so much better. Rebecca Lightsey, co-executive director of American Gateways, said: We are pleased to see that this hateful, anti-immigrant law will not take effect. There is so much fear and misinformation throughout the immigrant community, and we need to do everything we can to welcome people who are fleeing persecution and give them a right to make their claims and avoid harm.Affiliate: Texas -
Press ReleaseJul 2025
Disability Rights
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勛圖眻畦 Statement on Final Passage of Massive Budget Bill Cutting Medicaid to Fund Abusive Deportation Efforts
WASHINGTON The U.S. House of Representatives today gave final approval to H.R. 1, a budget bill that guts Medicaid and will wreak havoc on our communities, sending it to President Trumps desk for his signature. H.R. 1 is the biggest cut to Medicaid in history slashing approximately $1 trillion, which will result in at least 12 million people being removed from the program. The bill also cuts off access to Planned Parenthood services for Medicaid enrollees and restricts higher education opportunities, all to fund a dramatic and permanent increase to an immigration detention and deportation apparatus that denies due process and violates human rights. Following the vote in the House, Deirdre Schifeling, chief political and advocacy officer with the 勛圖眻畦, issued the following statement: This reckless monstrosity is the most harmful bill to pass Congress in a generation. Instead of strengthening Medicaid, theyve taken an axe to it. Instead of reining in ICEs abuses, Congress is throwing the agency billions more to terrorize our communities. When 12 million people are kicked off Medicaid, patients are no longer able to get lifesaving cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood, disabled people lose access to essential care and autonomy, and ICE ramps up lawless raids in our communities, the American people will remember who caused this devastation to our health, rights, and dignity. We wont let them forget. -
Press ReleaseJul 2025
Immigrants' Rights
Federal Court Blocks Trump Administration Efforts to Completely Shut Down Asylum at the Border
WASHINGTON A federal court today blocked President Trumps proclamation aimed at completely shutting down asylum at the border. The 勛圖眻畦, National Immigrant Justice Center, Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS), Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP), 勛圖眻畦 of the District of Columbia, and 勛圖眻畦 of Texas brought the federal lawsuit on behalf of Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, and the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, which provide legal services to asylum seekers, and a nationwide class of people barred from seeking protection in the United States under this proclamation. The court rejected the administrations efforts to use the 212(f) proclamation, which falsely cited an invasion as justification to deny asylum protections expressly granted by Congress and summarily deport families and individuals to countries where they are at grave risk of persecution with no recourse. The groups successfully argued that Trumps action ignored protections put in place by Congress (and backed by the courts for generations) that ensure people have the opportunity to have their asylum claims heard. This proclamation is even more extreme than Trumps previous attempts to shut off asylum in his first administration, as this move leaves no avenue open for people to seek asylum. This is a hugely important decision. Not only will it save the lives of families fleeing grave danger, it reaffirms that the president cannot ignore the laws Congress has passed and the most basic premise of our countrys separation of powers, said 勛圖眻畦 attorney Lee Gelernt, who argued the merits of the case. We are grateful that the federal courts continue to agree with us that the right to seek asylum is a fundamental protection provided by Congress and ingrained in U.S. law for decades. No president has the authority to unilaterally block people who come to our border seeking safety. The courts have repeatedly sided with us on this issue, and we will continue to fight cruel policies, under any administration, that harm individuals and families who flee persecution, said Keren Zwick, director of litigation at the National Immigrant Justice Center. This decision is a win for human dignity and the rule of law. It sends a clear message: the government cannot use cruelty as a weapon against people fleeing violence. The courts blocking of the Trump administrations executive action underscores the inhumane and unlawful nature of this policy and strengthens our call to protect the right to seek asylum. The Texas Civil Rights Project will continue fighting for the rights of those seeking safety at our border, said Rochelle Garza, president of the Texas Civil Rights Project. We are grateful that today the court refused to accept the administrations reckless disregard for the legal right to seek asylum. 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As the court rightly affirmed today, the Trump administration cannot rewrite our immigration laws and invent its own extra-statutory system to block people from exercising their rights, said Edith Sang羹eza, senior staff attorney at the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS). Under our laws, any person seeking safety at our southern border has a legal right to apply for asylum. The government cannot wield racist, baseless claims of an invasion to demonize refugees and unilaterally strip them of that right. For over six months, the illegal border proclamation has wrought nothing but suffering and chaos, forcing people fleeing persecution back to peril and leaving others stuck in detention, struggling to navigate a made-up process. The administration should now comply with the courts order and immediately reinstate a fair asylum process at the southern border. Todays ruling makes clear three salient points that transcend immigration at the border and speak to who we are as Americans. First, we are a nation of laws. Second, the Trump administrations sweeping invocation of executive branch authority transgresses the bounds established by our Constitution and our legislative branch. And third, the judicial branch is what stands between us and anarchy. The Trump administration's prerogative is once again found to be unlawful. It is increasingly clear where the illegality lies, and it is not with the immigrant families upon whom this administration is inflicting unfathomable harm, said Javier Hidalgo, legal director at RAICES. Federal law unequivocally guarantees the right of refugees to seek asylum and the right not to be returned to face torture. President Trumps attempt to eliminate these life-or-death rights with the swipe of a pen and under false pretenses had no legal basis, as the court today made clear, said Arthur Spitzer, senior counsel at the 勛圖眻畦 of the District of Columbia. 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Press ReleaseJul 2025
Immigrants' Rights
Human Rights
President Trumps Visit to Alligator Alcatraz Detention Facility Highlights Floridas Descent Into State-Sponsored Cruelty
MIAMI Following President Trumps visit to the Alligator Alcatraz detention facility in Miami-Dade County. Bacardi Jackson, Executive Director of the 勛圖眻畦 of Florida, shared the following statement: As President Trump doubled down on his agenda of fear and division, were reminded that this cruel and inhumane stunt is part of a broader strategy to expand the abusive mass detention machine, and in turn, criminalize and disappear members of our communities. Building a prison-like facility on sacred indigenous land in the middle of the Everglades is a direct assault on humanity, dignity, indigenous sovereignty, and the constitutional protections we all share. Our laws both U.S. and Florida prohibit cruel and unusual punishment. Yet, this facility echoes some of our nations darkest history, all while trampling the very land that indigenous communities have long fought to protect. The facilitys opening also comes as Congress is poised to authorize $45 billion in funding to expand the harmful mass immigration detention machine, right on the heels of multiple deaths in detention facilities. This project dehumanizes people, strips them of their rights, and diverts public dollars from the services our communities need. What the state is proposing is not a mandate it is state-sponsored cruelty that would harm our neighbors, coworkers, and loved ones. We cannot stand by while Florida becomes a testing ground for policies rooted in racism, fear, and erasure.Affiliate: Florida