The Secure Communities Initiative has just been deployed in two new counties, both in California. Beginning last Tuesday, law enforcement agencies in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties became a part of the initiative, that gives them access to electronic booking machines that check the digital fingerprints of arrested persons against the FBI criminal history records and the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) immigration records. If there is a match to DHS data, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is informed and, when needed, will become involved to ensure that criminal aliens are not released back into the public.

"Secure Communities provides local law enforcement with an effective tool to identify dangerous criminal aliens," said Marc Rapp, Acting Secure Communities Executive Director. "Enhancing public safety is at the core of ICE's mission. Our goal with Secure Communities is to use information sharing to prevent criminal aliens from being released back into the community, with little or no additional burden on our law enforcement partners."

More than 108 regions in 15 states currently participate in the Secure Communities initiative. ICE plans to implement the initiative nationwide by 2013.