Four U.S. citizens were erroneously arrested in Southern California recently through the federal immigration enforcement program called Secure Communities, the American Civil Liberties Union said Wednesday.
The arrests offer another point of tension between immigrant rights groups and Homeland Security, especially after President Barack Obama's administration said the highly criticized local-federal immigration enforcement program would only focus on illegal immigrants with serious criminal records.
Secure Communities, administered by U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement, allows fingerprint analysis to identify illegal immigrants in county jails.
Immigrant right groups say Secure Communities can discourage immigrants from reporting crimes and can lead to the deportation of people who haven't been convicted of anything.
"We demand that the county and the city of Los Angeles stop collaborating with (ICE) and that the Obama Administration stop Secure Communities once and for all," said Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center.
According to the ACLU, three Hispanic men were arrested and put on immigration holds after being processed through Secure Communities in November, and a fourth one went through the same process in July.
Read More: ACLU: Citizens Jailed Under US Immigration Program
The arrests offer another point of tension between immigrant rights groups and Homeland Security, especially after President Barack Obama's administration said the highly criticized local-federal immigration enforcement program would only focus on illegal immigrants with serious criminal records.
Secure Communities, administered by U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement, allows fingerprint analysis to identify illegal immigrants in county jails.
Immigrant right groups say Secure Communities can discourage immigrants from reporting crimes and can lead to the deportation of people who haven't been convicted of anything.
"We demand that the county and the city of Los Angeles stop collaborating with (ICE) and that the Obama Administration stop Secure Communities once and for all," said Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center.
According to the ACLU, three Hispanic men were arrested and put on immigration holds after being processed through Secure Communities in November, and a fourth one went through the same process in July.
Read More: ACLU: Citizens Jailed Under US Immigration Program
