Arlington opts out of federal immigration program

The Arlington County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in favor of a resolution to withdraw from the federal Secure Communities program, saying that it is not the role of Arlington’s law enforcement to enforce federal immigration laws.

The program is an agreement between the federal government and 26 states where local law enforcement agencies send fingerprints of individuals they arrest to be checked against the FBI’s national criminal database and the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration database.