American Civil Liberties Union

Last week, the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control reported the results of its extensive survey on intimate partner and sexual violence in the United States. The findings were staggering. In the past year alone, 1.3 million women were raped. In their lifetime, approximately 1 in 5 women have been raped and 1 in 6 women have been stalked. 1 in 4 women have been the victim of severe physical violence by an intimate partner.

Last Friday the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced their proposed changes to the much-criticized Secure Communities (S-Comm) program, the centerpiece of the Obama administration's immigration enforcement program. The administration's proposals, including statistical monitoring of the program, development of training modules for local law enforcement jurisdictions, and formation of an advisory committee, amount to nothing more than window dressing and fail to answer the growing tide of criticism by the governors of Illinois, Massachusetts and New York, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, law enforcement officials, civil rights advocates, and immigrant communities across the country.