JESSICA VAUGHAN and Mike Stopa are trying to hoodwink Globe readers with their disingenuous op-ed urging Governor Patrick to sign the Secure Communities program (“Immigration and ‘Secure Communities,’ ’’ May 24). The federal government claims that Secure Communities is designed to capture criminals. But as any immigration lawyer knows, all the criminal immigrants the program has caught in Massachusetts would have been nabbed by existing programs or standard FBI fingerprint checks anyway.
The program’s real achievement, instead, is a dangerous extension of the reach of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). According to ICE’s own statistics, 54 percent of those immigrants deported through Secure Communities in Boston since 2008 committed no criminal offense whatsoever. The inevitable perception is that local police are acting as de facto ICE agents — a perception that tears apart the bonds of trust between immigrant communities and local law enforcement.
In an Orwellian twist, therefore, Secure Communities ultimately threatens our communities’ security. That’s why many police chiefs have stepped forward to oppose its implementation, and why Illinois Governor Pat Quinn recently asked the Department of Homeland Security to remove his state from the program. Governor Patrick likewise needs to take a step back, and restore real community security by putting away his pen.
Eva A. Millona
Executive Director
Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition
Boston 
