Overpopulated city and county jails have asked President Barack Obama and his administration to make changes to the Secure Communities program, which classifies those who break immigration laws repeatedly as being the same as violent criminals in the list of deportation priorities.
Since many of the country's jails have had to reject federal petitions to maintain non-violent foreigners, the Secretary of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson, is expected to propose a change to the controversial program which would imit the deportations to immigrants sentenced of violent crimes, according to Los Angeles Times.
Obama, who is now known as the "deporter in chief" by Latino communities, has been criticized by the harsh posture of his government regarding immigration laws.
Defenders of the change said that this would ease the fears of undocumented immigrants twards the police, and allow local police to focus on capturing violent criminals.
The Press Secretary of the White House, Jay Carney, said that the President is worried about undocumented immigrants and their families, which are being destroyed, but is allowing Johnson to manage the analysis of these policies.
Johnson has talked to police departments in private meetings and has told them that he's considering placing limits on when immigration agents can ask local jails to maintain undocumented immigrants who have been arrested.
He also told the PBS' "NewsHour", last May 15, that the Secure Communities program neded a "new start".
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, between 2008 and April 2014, over 283,000 people have been deported under this program. The program says that both local and state police can detain immigrants in their cells for up to 48 hours until an immigration agent arrives, reporred The Times.
An immigration law project has been stuck in the House of Representatives led by the Republican Party after being approved by the Senate last year. Many members of this party have expressed their doubts that if the law is approved, Obama won't apply it.
The Speaker of the House, John Boehner, said that if Obama's administration makes changes now, it would result in a step back for the immigration law project that the President has supported inconditionally. He warned that the suspicions of republican representatives will only get worse.
"Until the President makes it clear that we can trust him to implement immigration reform," Boehner said, "we really don't have much to talk about."
Republican Senators also said they're against any change to the Secure Communities program, which was approved during President George W. Bush's term, while an immigration reform project is stuck in the House of Representatives, awaiting approval.
Do you agree with the idea of limiting deportations to immigrants convicted of violent crimes only? Leave us your opinion in the comments section.
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