April 24, 2014 The Honorable Jeh Johnson Secretary of Homeland Security Washington, ! 20"2# !!

$ HS %nspector &eneral John 'oth ear Secretary Johnson, %n light of recent re(elations about per(asi(e misconduct )ithin the epartment of Homeland Security * HS+ ,ffice of %nspector &eneral *,%&+, )e are calling for the ,%& to issue a ne) and truly independent report on the efforts of %mmigration and !ustoms -nforcement *%!-+ to conceal from !ongress and the public aspects of the Secure !ommunities deportation program *S!,..+/ We are concerned that, in the absence of immediate and sufficient action from the ,%&, your current re(ie) of deportation policy )ill be met )ith suspicion/ At the same time, )e ta0e this opportunity to echo and reiterate the calls from many, including the !ongressional Hispanic !aucus, for the immediate and complete termination of the irreparably fla)ed and dangerous Secure !ommunities deportation program/ A report released yesterday by the Subcommittee on 1inancial and !ontracting ,(ersight of the Senate !ommittee on Homeland Security and &o(ernmental Affairs e2posed numerous areas of misconduct by 1ormer Acting and eputy %nspector &eneral of HS !harles -d)ards/ The HS %nspector &eneral3s role is to pro(ide independent o(ersight of a massi(e and po)erful go(ernment agency/ %nstead, .r/ -d)ards engaged in fre4uent improper communications )ith top HS officials, failed to secure independent legal ad(ice, and abused agency resources, crippling the integrity of the ,ffice/ As Sen/ 'onald H/ Johnson of Wisconsin, the ran0ing 'epublican on the subcommittee that issued the Senate report, stated, 5.r/ -d)ards )as a compromised inspector general / / / Any report generated out of his office )ould be suspect/61 ,f particular concern to 7 8,7 and our members )ere the report3s findings of misconduct surrounding the 2012 ,%& report on the highly discredited Secure !ommunities deportation program/ The Senate report details ho) .r/ -d)ards changed language in the ,%& report, )hich addressed )hether %!- has misled the public regarding the program, at the re4uest of HS officials/ .r/ -d)ards also altered the release date of the report in accordance )ith directions from HS, and did not inform his audit staff about these communications/ The report )as not released until after the director of %!- testified in !ongress regarding the program/ .r/ -d)ards himself resigned from his post three days before a scheduled congressional hearing/ %n the )a0e of these re(elations, the ,%& Secure !ommunities report cannot stand/
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%t is )ell established that S!,..3s stated purpose and goals di(erge drastically from the reality on the groundC)here hundreds of thousands of people )ith little or no criminal history ha(e been s)ept into the deportation dragnet as a result of the program/ Secure !ommunities has torn apart families, so)ed fear among immigrant communities, and incenti(i:ed ci(il rights (iolations/ The ,%& audit and report )as an opportunity to openly and accurately re(ie) these gra(e issues and to ac0no)ledge and address dishonest representations about the program made by HS/ %nstead, .r/ -d)ards failed to uphold the most basic function of his officeCindependent o(ersight of HSCconse4uently denying the public access to the truth about Secure !ommunities and further miring the program in contro(ersy and opacity/ %t is far past the time for HS to end Secure !ommunities once and for all/ 7o further re(ie) is needed/ The program has come under increasing fire from immigrant rights ad(ocates and local and state la) enforcement and go(ernment officials since its inception/ %n the last fe) )ee0s alone, the mayor of 9hiladelphia signed into la) an ordinance effecti(ely opting out of the program by refusing to honor immigration detainer re4uestsD .aryland3s go(ernor issued a ne) policy se(erely limiting compliance )ith such re4uests in the Ealtimore city ;ailD and more than a do:en counties in ,regon ha(e stopped complying )ith detainer re4uests after a federal district court in that state found that holding a person solely based on a detainer re4uest (iolated the 1ourth Amendment/ 7umerous other localities around the country ha(e enacted policies and t)o statesC!alifornia and !onnecticutCha(e passed legislation aimed at repairing some of the damage )rea0ed by Secure !ommunities/ -(en John Sand)eg, the former acting director of %!- )ho )as apparently at the center of the efforts to alter the ,%& report, no) agrees that S!,.. is un;ustly targeting people )ith pre(ious deportation orders/2 ,ur call to end the Secure !ommunities program is in line )ith this rising tide of resistance to an irreparably fla)ed program that has endangered the public/ 9resident ,bama recently directed your department to conduct a re(ie) of its deportation practices in an effort to ma0e these practices more humane/ %n order to ensure that the results of this re(ie) are not en(eloped in the same cloud of corruption, you must ta0e s)ift and thorough action to guarantee transparency and truthfulness regarding HS3s programs affecting immigrant communities, and the Secure !ommunities program in particular/ 1urthermore, )e call for an end to Secure !ommunities/ The misconduct brought to light by the Senate report is further e(idence that Secure !ommunities is bro0en beyond repair/ Sincerely, = 9ablo Al(arado -2ecuti(e irector, 7ational ay 8aborer ,rgani:ing 7et)or0

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