(FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to enact its Secure Communities program in New Hampshire starting on Tuesday.
The controversial federal program is meant to crack down on the number of illegal immigrants living in the state by sharing the fingerprints of those who have been arrested by local police with ICE.
A law enforcement officer familiar with the program told FOX 25 that every fingerprint taken by state, local, and county law enforcement will be shared with immigration authorities starting on Tuesday.
New Hampshire is the third state in New England, along with Connecticut and Rhode Island, to enforce the Secure Communities program. The program is enforced in Boston, but not throughout the entire state.
Gov. Deval Patrick refused to sign on to the program because he is concerned it will lead to local police profiling immigrants.
However, ICE is planning on activating the Secure Communities program by 2013. Thus far, 39 states have activated Secure Communities statewide.
An ICE spokesman credits the program with finding and deporting more than 135,000 immigrants convicted of crimes which includes nearly 50,000 convicted of aggravated felonies.
