The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) program “Secure Communities” was activated in the following county on April 19, 2011: Wicomico. Currently, all counties in Maryland use the program except Montgomery and Baltimore City.
Frederick County and Anne Arundel County participate in the 287(g) program, which is more expansive than Secure Communities.
The implementation of Secure Communities into these counties means that individuals arrested and fingerprinted by the police will also have their fingerprints cross-checked against those stored in the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) database. If an individual who was arrested in one of the previously mentioned counties is discovered to be in the United States illegally, deportation proceedings will begin immediately.
Statistics complied on the Secure Communities program reveal that individuals who were arrested and later deported because they did not have lawful status had no previous criminal convictions.