On May 15, 2012, ICE activated its “Secure Communities” program throughout New York State. As the implementation of this program may drastically alter the decision of noncitizen clients at arraignments, IDP has issued a practice advisory for criminal defense attorneys.
“Secure Communities” (S-Comm) is an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency program that requires state and local law enforcement agencies to automatically forward the fingerprints of all people arrested through immigration databases at booking. ICE then coordinates with local law enforcement to target people suspected of immigration violations for detention and deportation.