Immigration Crackdown: Arlington, Va., drops effort to opt out of immigration enforcement program

This would appear to "close the case" on local jurisdictions´ ability to refuse to participate in Secure Communities.

Arlington, Va., drops effort to opt out of immigration enforcement program � The Washington Independent: " After meeting with immigration enforcement officials, the county of Arlington, Va., is giving up on its push to remove itself from Secure Communities, a program that shares fingerprints collected for criminal background checks with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

CE officials previously laid out steps for opting out, which began with meetings like the one Arlington had with ICE representatives on Friday. But at the meeting, County Manager Barbara Donnellan said she was informed the county cannot be removed from Secure Communities because the state of Virginia agreed to participate in the program.

“ICE stated clearly — and with finality — that local activated communities do not have the option of withholding information from the program, although communities can opt not to learn the results of immigration queries,” Donnellan wrote in a memo to the county board after Friday’s meeting." Nov. 8, 2010