A federal program that checks the immigration status of people booked into local jails is tearing immigrant families apart, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in San Francisco said at an interfaith gathering Saturday.
"We cannot allow the pain of family separation and the fear amongst our communities to continue," Archbishop George Niederauer said in comments directed against the federal Secure Communities program. "We need to respect the dignity of all our sisters and brothers, undocumented or not."
Under the program, the fingerprints of individuals who are booked into jails are checked against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency's database.
Those found to be in the country illegally face deportation.
More than 1,700 jurisdictions participate in the program, which has resulted in the deportation of more than 110,000 immigrants convicted of crimes, according to ICE.
But critics say the program has also ensnared people with no prior criminal convictions or those arrested for relatively minor violations.
"This program results in our brothers and sisters being sent to a detention center because they were stopped for as little as a traffic violation," said Moises Agudo, a member of the San Francisco Archdiocese who also spoke at Saturday' event.
The gathering at St. Mary's Cathedral was attended by hundreds of people, many of them Hispanic immigrants.
ICE says it prioritizes the removal of illegal immigrants who pose the greatest threat to public safety and those who have repeatedly violated immigration laws.
Of the more than 110,000 immigrants deported under the program, over 39,000 were convicted of aggravated felonies such as murder, rape and the sexual abuse of children, according to ICE.
But some cities, counties and states are not convinced.
San Francisco and Santa Clara County have sought permission from the federal government to opt out.
And California considered legislation last year that would let local communities participate in the program only if they choose to do so through a resolution.
The bill was sponsored by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, who attended Saturday's gathering and said he plans to introduce similar legislation within 30 days.
"I believe my bill will reform the ICE act and the injustices they have perpetrated on all our people," Ammiano said. "Together we can do this, together we are powerful."