ICE declares Secure Communities mandatory, rescinds all local MOAs

In August 2011, ICE rescinded all signed memoranda of agreement with local jurisdictions and declared Secure Communities mandatory nationwide, stripping states and counties of any formal opt-out mechanism. The agency asserted that no signed agreement was required for fingerprint sharing because the program operated through an existing federal data-sharing pipeline between the FBI and DHS. Governors of Massachusetts, Illinois, and New York had announced their intent to withdraw from the program, and ICE Director Morton's August announcement foreclosed that option.