Blue Mass Group

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Governor Patrick, are you concerned about the safety of MA residents?

By

FOX’s Mike Beaudt reports

Gov. Deval Patrick’s public safety administration has sat for a year on a request by federal immigration authorities to sign up for a controversial new program aimed at finding and deporting immigrants with serious criminal backgrounds, preventing local police outside of Boston from taking part in it, a FOX Undercover investigation has found.

This initiative from the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Immigration is simple. When someone gets arrested for a crime they get fingerprinted. The arresting police department checks the prints on a system which will identify criminals who have previously committed serious crimes and whether they are here in the US legally. At that point the police can call ICE to get the criminals.

But Deval has not signed the paper neccesary for Police Departments through the state (except Boston) to aprtace in the program.

Bruce Chadbourne, head of the New England field office of the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s detention and removal division…

“Our goal is to pick up those who are priorities, which are Level 1, who are convicted for serious, heinous crimes — murder, rape, armed robbery. Things like that,” Chadbourne said. “We’ve picked up some very bad people and not just gotten them off the streets. We’ve removed them from the country.”

How serious of a crime will have to occur before Deval picks up his magic pen and signs on the dotted line to help protect the safety and lives of MA residents? I hope Charlie Baker reads the story since it would make a great campaign ad.

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Comments

  1. If he thought it would get him a vote.

    <

    p>You bigots never learn do you.

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    p>If the immigrants all looked like Tom Brady and Gizzle Buncheon you would be finding and extra bed in your house for them.

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    p>BTW are you sure you ancestors were legal.

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    p>Something upon which to reflect:

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    p>ALL THE PILGRIMS WERE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS.

  2. He has been a loyal attack dog for Deval and simply cannot let a post like this go without him falling all over himself and making excuses for Deval.

    • John, here’s the deal and I think you are well aware of the back story here.  Mitt in his waning days in office slipped in this BS to make him look like he’s tough on illegal immigrants.  The fact of the matter, it doesn’t help it only makes matters worse, with the support of police who actually have a job to do enforcing the laws and protecting us from criminals Patrick rescinded Mitt’s “I want to pretend I’m tough” baloney.

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      p>

      Governor Patrick directed Public Safety Secretary Kevin M. Burke to negotiate a Memorandum of Agreement between the Massachusetts Department of Corrections and the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that will allow specially-trained corrections officers in two state detention facilities to perform limited immigration law enforcement functions, including initiating deportment proceedings against convicted criminal illegal immigrants

      “With all that the State Police have to do to enforce the laws of this Commonwealth, I do not believe that it is either practical or wise to ask them to enforce Federal laws as well.  That is the job of the Federal government, and it should be done by the Federal government,” said Governor Patrick.  “At the same time, I do believe that convicted criminals housed in our prisons who have violated immigration laws should be turned over to Federal authorities for appropriate handling, including deportation.  Today’s MOU directs the correctional authorities to do just that.”

      “I applaud Governor Patrick’s decision to terminate the current agreement,” said Secretary Burke.  “Our State Police personnel need to remain focused on their primary mission of ensuring the public’s safety and the agreement, as written would likely have diminished their capacity to do so.”

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      p>The end result?  MORE illegal immigrants who commit crimes being deported.

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      p>So John, you have a problem with beefing up ICE staffing so that we deport more illegal immigrants that commit crimes?  Or is it that you would rather stymie police in capturing criminals?

      • You cannot go speechless with a post like mine, you’re powerless.

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        p>Anyway, yes the Governor is not doing his job protecting MA residents. All he has to do is “sign the paper” and allow MA police to simply search the database to find out if their suspects have committed serious crimes, then call ICE and let them do the rest.

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        p>The Secure Communities program has been widely successful and our Governor is not doing us any service by ignoring the US Custom’s requests that MA join. Based on recent surveys in MA, I would bet dinner for all BMGers that MA voters would overwhelmingly support the Governor signing up for this program.

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        p>I would also suggest Charlie Baker continue to drill home this message with voters and let the Governor try to explain his position.

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        p>Yesterday…

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        p>

        At Baker’s side was former US Attorney and fellow Republican Michael Sullivan, who said, There are criminal aliens that are allowed to walk the streets of the Commonwealth and across our country because Massachusetts is refusing to enter into this memorandum of agreement.

        <

        p>And the questions continue…

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        p>

        FOX Undercover’s Mike Beaudet caught up with Gov. Patrick at a campaign event today.

        BEAUDET – Do you support the Secure Communities program in Massachusetts? Beaudet asked.

        Governor Patrick – Well I think there’s a pilot underway now in Boston. And we’re watching that. And it’s certainly a sensible pilot and we’re trying to support that and understand it and then go from there, Patrick said.

        BEAUDET – Why hasn’t your administration signed the agreement with the federal government so far? Beaudet asked.

        Governor Patrick – Because the pilot’s still underway, and as I said, if we’re going to be thoughtful about this we should look at the results of that pilot and make our judgment and go from there, Patrick responded.

        BEAUDET – It’s rolled out in states all over the country. What exactly are you waiting for? Beaudet asked.

        Governor Patrick – You want me to say the same thing one more time? Patrick responded.

        BEAUDET – No I’d like you to give us an answer. Do you support it or not? Beaudet asked.

        Governor Patrick – I just did. Thank you, Patrick said.

        <

        p>Our Governor loves illegal immigrants and has no desire to encourage the enforcement of the laws otherwise he would sign the paper and not continue this bullshit like of “monitoring the pilot project” good grief, how stupid does he think MA residents are?

        • nonsense, this issue is nothing more than Republican voodoo of the immigration issue.  Cops want to be cops and be in the best position to do their job.  We have ICE that has their job too, there is nothing here that shows me why local police should take away from doing their job in order to do a federal job as well.  Police themselves have said that there are risks which to lead to public safety.  It’s getting done with ICE, and it’s getting done at a better rate now, so what’s your problem?  Can’t be that you’re grabbing at anything, real or not, to go after Patrick.  Can’t be.  This is completely ridiculous.

          • Are you saying cops don’t want to be able to arrest an illegal immigrant with a criminal record or violent crimes? Are you saying Governor Patrick doesn’t want cops to hold such criminals for the feds?

  3. I don’t read magazines or newspapers that have first-name headlines on the front page.

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    p>Headlines like this are the written equivalent of spitting in somebody’s face. I grant you that they are a staple of extremist rants, but they still add far more heat than light. When you choose a title like this, you show disrespect for both the person you’re referring to and, more importantly, your intended audience.

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    p>Obviously, you can post anything you like. I want to say again, however, that you’ll get a lot more attention from me if you refer to public figures with either their full name, their title, or a simple honorific like “Mr.” or “Dr.” — in this case, “Deval Patrick”, “Governor Patrick”, or “Mr. Patrick”.

  4. Even Fox describes the program as “controversial”.

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    p>A dangerous criminal threatens the safety of MA residents because he or she is a dangerous criminal — not because they are or are not an illegal immigrant.

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    p>This “issue” is just another example of right-wing pandering to the audience they perceive to be receptive to such pandering and xenophobia. Like much pornography, the presentation of this kind of garbage is as insulting to the audience as it is to scapegoats of the attack.

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    p>Police departments and responsible community leaders and elected local officials throughout the state oppose this program because its primary impact is to make all immigrants fearful of any contact with the police.

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    p>When discussing criminals “on the streets” who have been convicted of “murder, rape, armed robbery”, are we talking about criminals who are on the streets because they have done their time?

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    p>Are you saying that a convicted murderer who is on the streets is less dangerous because they are here legally? Are you saying that home-grown American convicted rapists are safer than illegal Russian convicted rapists?

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