August 17, 2011 Dear Secure Communities Task Force Member: We are writing to formally request that you resign from the task force established by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to advise the agency on ways to improve Secure Communities. While we appreciate your sincere effort to respond to a myriad of concerns raised about the Secure Communities program, it appears that DHS is not operating in good faith. Rather than engage in an earnest effort to address legitimate concerns raised by governors, law enforcement professionals, and affected communities about a program plagued with problems, DHS leadership appears to be using the task force process as a nakedly political gesture to defend the status quo. From the onset, we expressed concerns about the task force s scope and function. Those concerns were outlined in a letter sent to ICE Director John Morton on July 20, 2011 and signed by over 200 local and national groups, including law enforcement professionals. A primary concern was and remains that the task force lacks transparency and accountability to the public. The community hearing process set forth recently has only magnified these concerns. To outside observers, the task force s process is much like the Secure Communities program itself: undemocratic, secretive, and haphazard. So far, the public lacks basic information about the hearing locations, details, and dates. Press has been discouraged from attending the hearing in Dallas (the only hearing formally scheduled to date) and hearings in other cities have been abruptly cancelled. DHS s Secure Communities announcement on August 5 confirmed that the agency has no regard for the nation s courts, local and state law-makers, law enforcement, and communities much less this task force and any recommendations it may propose. Yet, the task force continues to be held up by ICE as a key reform in the face of significant opposition to the program. The decision to unilaterally abrogate all Secure Communities contracts with states, and impose this mass deportation program regardless of local opposition, is an affront to our nation s democratic principles. No federal agency should be allowed to operate with this level of impunity. We respectfully request that you stand on the side of democracy and transparency and resign from your position as a task force member. The sad truth is that, as implemented, the task force serves more to suppress rather than address growing concerns about this failed program and its negative impact on public safety and civil rights. To work within the parameters set by the task force will, we fear, only helps legitimize a rogue agency in desperate need of accountability, investigation, and reform. Sincerely, The Undersigned, Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice, Inc. Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice
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