November, 23 2011, 11:27am EDT
Swept Up by Secure Communities: Law Enforcement, Gov't Officials, Victims Speak Out
The Department of Homeland Security's Secure Communities (S-Comm) program leads local communities to distrust law enforcement, encourages racial profiling and undermines the Constitution. Speakers will convey why the program is flawed at a press conference to be held on Wed., Nov. 30 at 11 a.m., in the Cannon House Office Building, Room 122. The conference will be in advance of an S-Comm Oversight Hearing scheduled for later in the day before the Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement of the House Judiciary Committee.
WASHINGTON
The Department of Homeland Security's Secure Communities (S-Comm) program leads local communities to distrust law enforcement, encourages racial profiling and undermines the Constitution. Speakers will convey why the program is flawed at a press conference to be held on Wed., Nov. 30 at 11 a.m., in the Cannon House Office Building, Room 122. The conference will be in advance of an S-Comm Oversight Hearing scheduled for later in the day before the Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement of the House Judiciary Committee.
WHAT:
Press conference featuring a range of criticism of S-Comm.
WHO:
Antonio Montejano: A U.S. citizen born in Los Angeles who was arrested by the Santa Monica Police Department for shop lifting. He accidentally left a store without paying for candy that his children had eaten while shopping. Despite his citizenship, he was detained for several days under a DHS hold, which was triggered because of S-Comm. During his detention, he was not provided any blankets and was forced to sleep on the floor.
Ronald Hampton, Washington Representative of Blacks in Law Enforcement in America and a retired police officer who served in the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. for 24 years. Hampton has been a vocal critic of S-Comm for leading to anti-community policing and harming public safety.
Aarti Kohli, Director of Immigration Policy, The Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy, Berkeley Law, University of California. Kohli co-authored the report, "Secure Communities by the Numbers: An Analysis of Demographics and Due Process," which revealed many problems with S-Comm.
Honorable J. Walter Tejada: Member, Arlington County Board. Arlington County sought to opt out of S-Comm but was told by DHS that it cannot do so.
Ali Noorani, Executive Director, National Immigration Forum. The National Immigration Forum was appointed to the DHS' S-Comm Task Force but later resigned because it believed that the final report did not remedy flaws in S-Comm's operation.
WHEN:
Wed., Nov. 30 at 11 a.m.
WHERE:
Cannon House Office Building, Room 122
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
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