The Department of Homeland Security was subpoenaed in regards to illegal immigrants who have not been taken into custody by federal officials after being arrested for over three years.
Of the 630,000 illegal immigrants with criminal records detained through the Secure Communities program, there are 300,000 who have only so called "low-level" crimes and who haven't been put behind bars.
Among the many opponents of the Secure Communities program are republicans who feel the administration is trying to hide the names of illegals to protect them from any crimes they have committed since being released from custody.
The Secure Communities program works with ICE(Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to determine the status of immigrants with crimes. Fingerprints and criminal record information is sent to ICE where the information is sorted and citizen status of the detainees is determined.
ICE claims they are improving the safety of our nation by deporting illegal immigrants with criminal records. No comment was made about the illegals with "low-level" crimes and ICE's official statement was that, "the number of matches generated through Secure Communities does not correspond to the number of individuals identified through Secure Communities." In essence, they can't keep track of all the illegal immigrants with criminal records, so they only place priority on those who are more of a threat.
Many states are choosing not to adapt the Secure Communities program. They are in opposition and say, "the deportation of illegal immigrants, particularly those accused of minor crimes, is making immigrant communities distrustful of law enforcement and less willing to report crimes."
Taken from: http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/04/politics/immigration-records-subpoenaed/index.html
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