Secure Communities Program To Launch Next Week

The , which would impact illegal immigrants, will go into effect next week in Massachusetts.

According to the Boston Globe, the controversial federal program will start on Tuesday, May 15. The program requires law enforcement officers to run finger prints of arrested individuals through an federal databases to determine whether they are in the country illegally. Federal immigration authorities could then arrest the suspect and possibly deport them.

The start of the program, which Boston has been participating in since 2008, comes in the wake of recent developments in the case of

Gov. Deval Patrick declined to enroll in the program previously saying it would unfairly target immigrants not convicted of any crime, according to the Globe. The Boston Police believe it is an essential way to combat crime, according to the Globe.

Massachusetts Secretary of Public Safety Mary Beth Heffernan told FOX 25 that the program will not impact how fingerprints are shared and noted law enforcement officers are already sharing fingerprints with federal authorities.