Colorado sheriffs voted unanimously Thursday to quickly and voluntarily join the Secure Communities initiative before it becomes mandatory in 2013.
The vote was taken at the annual meeting of the County Sheriffs of Colorado. Representatives of every sheriff’s office in the state voted to implement the program that will turn over fingerprints of all jail detainees to Immigration and Customers Enforcement division. This partnership between local law enforcement jurisdictions and the federal agency is designed to more easily identify and deport illegal immigrants who have committed crimes.
“Everyone wants to start this as soon as possible,” said Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson. Robinson was on a state task force that recommended implementation of Secure Communities in Colorado.
Robinson said Arapahoe, Denver and El Paso counties immediately will begin training sheriffs’ employees to use the new program and work out any bugs before the other counties join the effort in about a month.
Some sheriffs had expressed reservations about the potential cost and extra workload of the Secure Communities program, but Robinson said all were convinced after a discussion Thursday that it will not negatively impact their departments.
The program has been criticized by immigrants’ rights and other advocacy groups for its potential to cast too wide a net for illegal immigrants who have not committed serious crimes.
