Reporting criminal illegal aliens to federal authorities is “entirely” voluntary, now that the Obama administration has ended the federal-state program intended to enforce the nation’s immigration laws, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) said at a news conference on Tuesday.
A reporter asked Lofgren about the Secure Communities and 287(g) programs, both of them information-sharing programs designed to enforce federal immigration law at the state and local level, and both ended by the Obama administration.
Critics, including Lofgren, claimed the programs led to too many deportations, rounding up people for minor offenses as well as criminal acts.
“I’ll just address also the Secure Communities program, which was eliminated in November,” said Lofgren. “Now there’s a voluntary program they’re asking counties to participate in, so that if you have a serious felon, they request that you notify them, but that’s entirely up to localities.”
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