ICE Freezes Agreements - Now What?

By Fidel "Butch" Montoya

When you read the press release below, you will agree that this is a terrible development in the battle between the states and cities that wish to opt out of the Secure Communities ICE/Homeland Security Department agreements. Now the Homeland Security Department says they are not necessary and it will enforce the program whether or not a local government entity wants to be involved with this program of deportation.

President Obama has said over and over that this program is only put in place to deport the worst of the criminals and felons that are undocumented. However, what the President says and what his Homeland Security Department Secretary does are two different things. ICE has deported anyone regardless if they are felons or dangerous criminals.

In fact, today, right this moment, if an undocumented immigrant is stopped by the police for a broken tail light, they most likely will be deported. What the facts are of this deplorable policy is that hard working Moms, Dads, and young adults are being deported. Young people who were brought here as children and had hoped the Dream Act would pass so they could continue their education and receive their citizenship are now prime candidates for deportation.

It is time that the Church seriously begins to pray over this matter. We have sent millions of faxes, emails, phone calls, demonstrations, civil disobedience, and personal requests to the President to stop destroying families by separation and deportation. He has refused to heed our voices for justice.

I fully understand that many pastors and ministers are hesitant to involve their ministries with the issue of undocumented immigrants. But I don’t understand is how we discriminate with the Gospel and refuse to denounce the voices of hate and fear with the Scripture that instructs us to care for “the alien, the stranger in our land, the poor, the widow, the visitor in our midst.”

I am calling upon the Church and faith leaders across this country to begin to pray for deliverance for the stranger in our land who works hard to feed his/her family. To provide shelter and a home in this land. We must drop to our knees asking God to intervene in the policies of this government that only respond to the voices of paranoia and racism.

It is time to call upon our God to change the mind of our President and Congress, or send judgment to America for our sins and lack of compassion to love our neighbor. Please remember the Prophet in the Bible did not just bring good news, but often called for judgment upon the people for refusing to heed the Voice of the Lord.

I am very discouraged by this new development. Instead of sending more faxes, more emails, more phone calls, more demonstrations, I am asking you to send a pray to Heaven and the Throne of Grace, to our Father who art in Heaven, and plead with our prayers for changes.

Several times the people of Israel failed to obey the Lord and sinned. Many times God was prepared to judge and destroy these people. In fact, all of those who grumbled, complained, turned away from God, and danced around their Gold calf did not make it out of the wilderness. But when God’s leaders asked God to forgive the people, to give them another chance, God’s mind was changed and He relented.

We are at that point where I ask you to call upon our Lord to forgive our sins, deliver us from all this hate, this bigotry, this fear of the undocumented immigrant and give us justice and righteousness.

Please I am asking....only for your prayers and the prayers of your people in your churches. We must bombard Heaven with our prayers, our supplications, our needs, and desire for justice.

Please join us in prayer.


For immediate release

For more information:
Julien Ross, CIRC Executive Director, 720-290-1125
Jessie Ulibarri, American Civil Liberties Union, 720-434-3747

ICE v. Colorado: Rogue Agency Rescinds Accountability to States around “Secure Communities” Dragnet Program

Federal Government Runs Roughshod Over States and Immigrant Communities

Today, the US Department of Homeland Security announced that it is unilaterally annulling the agreements between states and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “Secure Communities” program, a fingerprint-sharing program between ICE and local police that in reality functions as a dragnet to detain and deport undocumented immigrants, including half a million non-criminal immigrants. The “memoranda of agreements” nullified by DHS had included provisions stating that states could terminate their participation in the program, as Illinois and New York had already done. Colorado was the the first state to negotiate amended language to the MOA, which was signed by former Governor Ritter in January 2011, including unique language to protect victims of crimes. The following is the statement of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition:

The Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC) condemns DHS’s unilateral action to annul ICE’s agreements with states, including Colorado. These agreements provided a clear framework for the relationship between states and ICE regarding the “Secure Communities” program—including the right of the states to terminate their participation.

“From the beginning, the ‘Secure Communities’ program has been shrouded in secrecy,” said Jessie Ulibarri of the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, “By rescinding the state agreements, DHS is once again acting in bad faith and eliminating accountability to states that have witnessed the overreach and damage wrought by this program.”

Today’s announcement comes as a DHS task force is reviewing the program, and about to launch a nationwide series of public hearings, calling into question the legitimacy and transparency of the entire oversight process.

The announcement also comes as new public data confirms that “Secure Communities” has strayed far from President Obama’s stated immigration enforcement goal of “focusing primarily on criminals” and the statement in ICE’s agreement with Colorado that the program would identify immigrants who have been “convicted of a serious criminal offense and are subject to removal.” In Colorado, 77% of immigrants arrested by ICE under this program have no criminal convictions, or charged with of non-violent offenses.

“This unilateral nullification of state agreements is yet one more example of ICE acting as a rogue agency without any accountability to its stated enforcement priorities,” said Julie Gonzales, CIRC Director of Organizing, “meanwhile the ‘Secure Communities’ program is tearing families apart and destroying trust in local policing efforts.”

Adding further confusion, ICE has made misleading and confusing statements about whether local communities can opt out of the program, and proposed high-pressure political tactics to enlist reluctant jurisdictions. Last month, a federal judge hearing Freedom of Information Act litigation against ICE over “Secure Communities” concluded that “[t]here is ample evidence that ICE and DHS have gone out of their way to mislead the public about Secure Communities.”

“DHS has yet to provide clear legal authority to support its claim that “Secure Communities” is federally mandated,” said Hans Meyer, CIRC Policy Attorney, “CIRC questions whether any such legal authority exists, and believes that the program is vulnerable to legal challenge.

CIRC will continue to stand with community, faith, business and elected leaders and allies in their commitment to effective law enforcement while keeping hardworking immigrant families together and all communities safe—a commitment that flies in the face of the “Secure Communities” program.

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Fidel "Butch" Montoya is Director of H. S. Power and Light Ministries - Latino Faith Initiative. He was the Vice President/News Director of KUSA - TV Channel 9 News from 1985-1990, and worked at the news station for 24 years as a journalist. Montoya also served as Deputy Mayor of City and County of Denver from 1995-1999; and in law enforcement as the Manager of Public Safety, responsible for the Denver Police Department, Denver Fire Department, and Denver Sheriff Department for the City and County of Denver from 1994-2000. Montoya was Licensed to preach in 1972. He serves on the Executive Council for the Hispanic Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform.