DENVER - Gov. Bill Ritter is considering whether to move forward with a new Immigration and Customs Enforcement program aimed at getting illegal immigrants off the streets.
The program is called Secure Communities and it is now operating in 26 states.
Under the program, when a person is arrested and fingerprinted, those fingerprints would automatically be run through the ICE database to see if the person is in the country illegally and whether the person has a criminal history.
Ritter is considering a few pilot programs in different areas, but has no timeline on making a formal decision.
Denver's new Manager of Safety, Ron Perea, believes this is another tool for law enforcement.
"This would give law enforcement an opportunity to get these people off the streets," Perea said.
But the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition believes the program could create a bigger wedge between the immigrant groups and law enforcement, and be even more problematic than the new immigration law in Arizona.
"I think this could actually have a much wider impact on our public safety. Immigrant victims of crime will be afraid to come forward," said the executive director Julien Ross. "We're particularly worried about domestic violence victims (and) juveniles."
The group is instead calling for comprehensive immigration reform on the federal level.
The program is called Secure Communities and it is now operating in 26 states.
Under the program, when a person is arrested and fingerprinted, those fingerprints would automatically be run through the ICE database to see if the person is in the country illegally and whether the person has a criminal history.
Ritter is considering a few pilot programs in different areas, but has no timeline on making a formal decision.
Denver's new Manager of Safety, Ron Perea, believes this is another tool for law enforcement.
"This would give law enforcement an opportunity to get these people off the streets," Perea said.
But the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition believes the program could create a bigger wedge between the immigrant groups and law enforcement, and be even more problematic than the new immigration law in Arizona.
"I think this could actually have a much wider impact on our public safety. Immigrant victims of crime will be afraid to come forward," said the executive director Julien Ross. "We're particularly worried about domestic violence victims (and) juveniles."
The group is instead calling for comprehensive immigration reform on the federal level.
