For Immediate Release: July 22, 2021

Contact: [email protected]

CITIES FOR ACTION LEADERS SEND LETTER TO DHS SECRETARY MAYORKAS CALLING FOR AN END TO SECURE COMMUNITIES

22 local leaders from across the country sent a letter today to DHS Secretary Mayorkas calling for an end to the Secure Communities program and to automatic information sharing between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”). 

Secure Communities, a DHS program that mandates that the FBI automatically share fingerprints it captures with ICE, creates an involuntary entanglement between local government and civil immigration enforcement. As the Biden Administration reviews existing interior immigration enforcement policies, the letter states unequivocally that Secure Communities  makes our cities and counties less safe, violates principles of due process, and exacerbates long-standing inequities in our criminal legal system that disproportionately affect immigrants of color.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio: "The Secure Communities program has long harmed immigrant New Yorkers by tearing apart families, undermining public safety, and eroding the trust we have worked so hard to build in our communities. As our City recovers from the ongoing pandemic, distrust in local government hurts our efforts. The time is now - we urge Secretary Mayorkas to take the powerful step of ending this program."

Boston Mayor Kim Janey: “I have made clear that the Boston Police Department should focus on creating trust in immigrant communities. Now, I am asking the federal government to end the “Secure Communities” program, including the FBI practice of automatically sharing information from local police departments with ICE, and to follow Boston’s model of building trust in local communities, protecting residents, and increasing public safety for all.”

Somerset Mayor Jeffrey Slavin: "Somerset values safe, welcoming communities for our diverse residents. Ending Secure Communities is in line with these important values and we call on Secretary Mayorkas to do the right thing."

Rochester Mayor Lovely A. Warren: “As mayor of the city of Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony, I recognize the so-called Secure Communities Program as a direct assault against the values of social justice and civil rights that Rochester still holds dear,” said Rochester Mayor Lovely A. Warren. “We know that our nation’s greatest strengths lie in its embrace of diversity, which is why we must do everything we can to help our immigrant and refugee communities feel welcome in our cities.”

Click here to view the letter

About Cities for Action  

Cities for Action is a coalition of over 150 U.S. mayors and county executives working to advocate for and promote civic inclusion of our immigrant communities. Click HERE to see a list of Cities for Action mayors and county executives. To learn more about our work, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.