Secure Communities immigration enforcement program intro'd in Montgomery County, Md.

Montgomery officials are getting a civics lesson in the power of the federal government: A controversial federal immigration enforcement program will launch in the county this fall, whether local officials like it or not.

In a terse letter, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official told Montgomery’s corrections director that the program, called Secure Communities, is coming soon. As part of the program, fingerprint data from local law enforcement are sent to federal immigration officials.

“This letter is to notify you that the activation date for Montgomery County is scheduled for Tuesday, September 27, 2011,” the three-sentence letter said.

Montgomery already sends information to ICE about people arrested on charges of violent or gun crimes, regardless of whether they are immigrants. It also regularly sends a list of foreign-born inmates to immigration officials. County officials are concerned that the new program’s broader net will draw in many upstanding individuals or those who have made minor mistakes.