Secure Communities Program (S-COMM) Endangers Civil Rights and Security

bostonmayday

Boston stands up for its immigrant community!

On Saturday, February 12th, 2011 at 1PM, people from across Massachusetts will come together at the State House to protest the State’s intention to join the anti-immigrant and racist “Secure Communities” program (S-COM).

Under the guise of public safety, “S-Comm” endangers the civil rights and security of all and is particularly an attack on immigrants and people of color. The federal program mandates local law enforcement to cross check the fingerprints of those arrested against the Homeland Security’s database in search of immigration status. While supposedly targeting “violent offenders,” the vast majority of those detained and deported are considered “non-criminals”. This would include those who have been unlawfully arrested, those arrested for minor offenses like traffic violations and those who ultimately have their charges dropped. In Suffolk County, the only jurisdiction in the state currently enrolled, 68% of those detained and deported have been “non-criminals”, the sixth highest percentage in the country.

The “S-Comm” program is part of an overall effort to target immigrants and maintain a permanent second-class status for millions of workers. The time is now for communities across the state to stand together against “S-Comm” and all anti-immigrant programs. We strongly believe that undocumented immigrants are not criminals!

Our demands are simple and clear:

Partial list of endorsers (as of 2/10/11): American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts, Boston-Cambridge Alliance for Democracy, Center for Nonviolent Solutions, Centro Presente, Chelsea Uniting Against the War, Circulo Bolivariano Martin Luther King, Code Pink, Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES), Community Church of Boston, Dominican Development Center, FMLN Boston, Harvard No Layoffs Campaign, Immigration Pastoral Center, Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), International Action Center (IAC), MassCOSH/Centro de Trabajadores, Mass. Jobs with Justice (MJWJ) , MataHari: Eye of the Day, MIRA, National Lawyers Guild (NLG) - Massachusetts Chapter, Party for Socialism and Liberation, Project Voice AFSC, Proyecto Hondureno, Resist the Raids Network, Stop the Wars Coalition, Student Immigrant Movement, Student (SIM), Labor Action Movement (SLAM), Union of Minority Neighborhoods (UMN), United for Justice with Peace, Veterans for Peace, Worcester Immigrant Coalition (WIC), Worcester PeaceWorks