The Task Force on Secure Communities is a subcommittee of the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) and was created in June 2011 at the request of DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano. The Task Force was asked to consider how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) may improve the Secure Communities Program, including how to address some of the concerns about the program that “relate to [its] impact on community policing and the possibility of racial profiling,” and “how to best focus on individuals who pose a true public safety or national security threat.” In addition, the Task Force was specifically charged with making recommendations “on how ICE can adjust the Secure Communities program to mitigate potential impacts on community policing practices, including whether and how to implement policy regarding the removals of individuals charged with, but not convicted of, minor traffic offenses who have no other criminal history. The following people are members on the Task Force on Secure Communities.
Chuck Wexler
Executive Director, Police Executive Research Forum (Chair, Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) member)
Monica Beamer
Representative, American Federation of Government Employees Local 511
Bo Cooper
Partner, Berry Appleman & Leiden L.L.P.
Christopher Crane
President of National Council 118, American Federation of Government Employees
Andrea Zuniga DiBitetto
Legislative Representative, AFL-CIO
Jeffrey Fagan
Professor of Law and Public Health, Columbia Law School
Adrian Garcia
Sheriff, Harris County Sheriff’s Office, Texas
Douglas Gillespie
Sheriff, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
Robert Glaves
Executive Director, The Chicago Bar Foundation
Benjamin Johnson
Executive Director, American Immigration Council
Andrew Lauland
Homeland Security Advisory, Maryland
Laura Lichter
Partner, Lichter & Associates, P.C.
David Martin
Distinguished Professor of International Law, University of Virginia School of Law
Brittney Nystrom
Director of Policy and Legal Affairs, National Immigration Forum
Charles Ramsey
Police Commissioner, Philadelphia Police Department
Lupe Valdez
Sheriff, Dallas County Sheriff’s Department, Texas
Arturo Venegas, Jr.
Founder, Law Enforcement Engagement Initiative
Roberto Villaseñor
Chief of Police, Tucson Police Department, Arizona
Wendy Wayne
Director of the Immigration Impact Unit, Committee for Public Counsel Services
Sister Rosemary Welsh
Executive Director, Casa de Misericordia and Director, Mercy Ministries Outreach
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Visit the Secure Communities "What's New" Area
The Task Force is receiving public comment at TFSC@dhs.gov.