Last week, immigration law in North Carolina changed when the state joined only nine others - including Arizona, New Mexico, California and Florida - in implementing the Secure Communities program statewide. The goal of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) program is to catch and deport illegal immigrants who are guilty of criminal activities.
Under the program, fingerprints of arrested individuals are run through FBI and ICE databases, to determine whether the individual is undocumented and if he or she has a criminal record. According to ICE, the program "improves and modernizes the identification and removal of criminal aliens from the United States."
The federal government's goal is to have all 50 states enrolled in Secure Communities by 2013.
But critics say the program might have unintended consequences.