Why would activists say , an illegal committed a volient crime they do NOT want ice to have their prints?

On the same day San Mateo County Sheriff Greg Munks began sending the fingerprints of everyone arrested to federal immigration authorities, immigrant rights activists Tuesday called on county supervisors to halt the practice.

But the supervisors may not have much of a choice in the matter because California Attorney General Jerry Brown later in the day denied a request by San Francisco's sheriff to opt out of similarly sending arrestees' fingerprints to the feds.

The so-called Secure Communities program is being rolled out nationwide by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in an effort to identify illegal immigrants.

Virginia Kice, an ICE spokeswoman, said counties already send fingerprints captured during jail bookings to law enforcement databases maintained by the state Department of Justice and the FBI to check for other warrants and past criminal history.

Under Secure Communities, the fingerprints are automatically compared with those in the Department of Homeland Security's immigration database. The results are then reported back to local jurisdictions.

Critics say the policy means illegal immigrants arrested for minor crimes could be deported, even if criminal charges are never filed, making them reluctant to report crimes. In addition, the program could affect the small percentage of legal citizens whose fingerprints were mistakenly entered into the federal immigration database, activists said at Tuesday's
rally in Redwood City.

"This makes people more vulnerable. I think they won't trust the sheriff," said Reena Johan, a member of the board for the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California.

Kice said authorities just want to identify illegal immigrants with lengthy criminal histories or deportation records. She said Secure Communities is "nothing more than an information sharing system" that will allow authorities to make "prudent decisions about follow-up actions.

"One of the challenges we face is because of the volume of people encountered by local law enforcement, we believe, in some cases, criminally convicted aliens that may pose a threat to public safety are being released back onto the streets," Kice said.

While counties already check the names of some arrestees with federal immigration officials, Kice said the accused sometimes give false information. "Fingerprints don't lie," she said.

Board of Supervisors President Rich Gordon said the county counsel will prepare a report to determine whether San Mateo County can consider not participating, but added it "doesn't sound that way under what Jerry Brown said today."

Brown sent a letter Tuesday denying the San Francisco sheriff's request to opt out, saying the program "serves both public safety and the interests of justice."

"If the attorney general's ruling is applicable to all counties and is a ruling that would stand, then we follow the law until such time the law is changed," Gordon said.

Secure Communities has already been implemented in 169 counties in 20 states, including 17 in California, according to the attorney general.

Gordon said he has not yet formed an opinion about whether the county should opt out if it can, but noted he wants to "make sure this is not something that makes it more difficult for legal immigrants in our country (and) not something that ends up providing a profiling opportunity."

He also noted that while supervisors could voice their opinion, the program is implemented by the sheriff, and "at the end of the day it would end up being his decision." Munks could not be reached for comment.

Before news of Brown's ruling, activist groups â€” including the International Institute of the Bay Area and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center â€” delivered a letter to the board saying they have serious concerns about the program and believe it is optional for counties.

Sara Matlin, an attorney who represents domestic violence victims, said the abused are sometimes arrested if abusers accuse them of violence. Matlin, who also serves on the ACLU's board, said she usually encourages illegal immigrant victims to report the crimes, "but now I can't do that safely."

So if an illegal committed a volient crime they do NOT want ice to have their prints such if an illegal killed somebody they are saying by giving his prints to ICE it would cause distrust in the illegal community and activits are now saying illegals should be allowed to kill, rob banks, steal cars without the police doing anything due to distrust ?http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_15161293?nclick_check=1