Immigrant advocates and Tea Party supporters clashed at a public meeting in Chelsea, MA

[pampango]

last night.

http://www.wbur.org/2011/04/29/secure-communities

Some, like Tea Party member Carlos Hernandez, said that the program (Secure Communities) is focused on illegal immigrants, but it helps protect all the citizens of Massachusetts. However, the majority of the people who spoke at the meeting opposed joining the program.

Federal authorities say the purpose is to deport illegal immigrants convicted of serious crimes. But a review of the deportations in Boston, where the police department instituted the program a few years ago, shows that the program has ensnared many non-criminals or people who committed misdemeanors.

Some immigrant activists felt the program has a racial component. “I’m against this,” said John Schibb, a Massachusetts resident. “I do not feel more secure by this. Let’s be honest… white people don’t tend to get targeted like people of color.”

Some communities around the country are trying to fight implementing the program, even threatening legal action against the Obama administration. (Massachusetts secretary of Public Safety, Mary Elizabeth0 Heffernan said she’s watching these battles, but as of now, Massachusetts plans to comply.