By Alan Lytle
Lexington, KY – Lexington will soon sign on to become one of 650 so-called Secure Communities. Essentially it'll allow the fingerprints of anyone arrested by local authorities to be shared with federal immigration officials.
"It is the most uniform, consistent, and easy way to make sure that we identify those who not only have broken our criminal laws but also have broken our immigration laws, and make sure that we have a seamless transition from the criminal justice system into the immigration and deportation system."
Opponents say the program will make it hard for local law enforcement to work within immigrant communities. According to the department of Homeland Security, of the 392,000 people who were deported last year, nearly 200,000 of them were convicted criminals.