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Governor Fails Immigrants, Civil Liberties and Working People with "Secure Communities" Plan

Statement of the Boston May Day Committee

The Boston May Day Committee records its complete outrage at Governor Patrick's intention to join the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Secure Communities program. The program claims to target serious offenders and violent criminals. Under that cover, it connects Federal, State and local databases and threatens anyone caught up in those vast systems of imperfect record keeping with detention and deportation. The program offers few meaningful avenues of appeal and judicial redress. It also comes in the context of increased Federal repression of antiwar and pro-immigrant activism.

Immigrants, like all workers need the protection of rule of law. Secure Communities discourages this by threatening anyone relating to the criminal justice system with deportation. It also provides a false sense of security to the greater community while providing no resources for actual crime prevention and restorative justice. It burdens local law enforcement with unnecessary duties of a failed Federal immigration system. It is nothing short of political demagoguery at our expense.

The Boston May Day Committee plans to join with other pro-immigrant, pro-worker and civil liberties organizations in protest and in opposition to ICE and the governor's plans.

The Boston May Day Committee consists of both individuals and organizations, including the ANSWER Coalition, Industrial Workers of the World (Boston), July 26 Coalition, Latinos and Latinas for Social Change, Mass. Global Action, Socialist Alternative, the Socialist Party, the Socialist Workers Party, and TecsChange.

Boston, December 22, 2010