Polito: Secure Communities might have saved Rehma Sabir

I don't believe that it takes a village to raise a child, but I think more "Secure Communities" might have saved little Rehma Sabir. She died following a massive head injury and her nanny, Aisling McCarthy Brady, will likely be charged with murdering the one-year-old.

The illegal-alien-turned-nanny has a long history with police and a short one with immigration officials. The thirty-four-year-old came here in 2002 from Ireland on a 90-day visa and never looked back.

It appears that no one looked into Brady's immigration status when she was first arrested years ago.

Last spring, over the objections of Gov. Deval Patrick, the program known as Secure Communities was enacted in Massachusetts. The federal immigration policy is aimed at cracking down on illegal immigrants, especially those who commit crimes. The program adds a step on the federal level, as far as what happens to fingerprints after someone is arrested and booked.

Before, local police departments in Massachusetts forwarded all finger prints to the FBI. After May 15th, 2012, the FBI began to share those same finger prints with the Department of Homeland Security. That's where they will be checked against immigration records. If the person is found to be an illegal immigrant, a decision will be made on whether they will be deported.

Aisling McCarthy Brady slipped through the cracks prior to Secure Communities. Cracks that were growing because Patrick and others resisted even the most basic reforms to control illegal immigration.

There is no guarantee that Rehma Sabir's life would have been saved if Secure Communities had been enacted earlier. But, it's safe to assume that if Aisling McCarthy Brady had a child, Gov. Patrick would allow her kid to pay the lower in-state tuition at a state college or university.

Cox Media Group