Arlington County Board member Walter Tejada celebrates with activists and community members after the county voted to reject the Secure Communities immigration enforcement program. (Photo: TBD Staff)

Arlington became one of the first communities in the country to reject a national immigration enforcement program today when the County Board voted 5-0 against the county's participation in that program.

In a rare crowded afternoon meeting, County Board member Walter Tejada made the case for Arlington rejecting the "Secure Communities" program implemented by Virginia earlier this year. The program requires local law enforcement to forward fingerprints and other identification information of alleged offenders to federal immigration enforcement agencies.

The county will now notify Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and the Virginia State Police of "its intent to withdraw" from the program and meet with both agencies to determine exactly how that should be done. (Arlington just missed being the first to vote along these lines; the county of Santa Clara, Calif. voted to withdraw from the program earlier today, according to Tejada.)

When the board gave the final "ay," the room quickly filled with cheers and a standing ovation from audience members, many of them Latinos in bright orange t-shirts bearing the logos of the Tenants and Workers United and local construction unions.

Tejada and several local activist groups have been working on this issue since they found out Virginia opted into the Secure Communities program last spring.

It turned out to be quite difficult for Arlington County to find out whether they actually are allowed to opt out of the program. "ICE gives conflicting information," Tejada says. "We wanted clear information, 'can we opt out.'"

It took several months and a letter from Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to get the final answer. Napolitano wrote that a local law enforcement agency could choose to opt out, but would still be responsible for reporting "suspected criminal aliens to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office.

Tejada points out that he's not looking to shield felons and other criminals from legal action or deportation, but rather, he's looking to protect many others that have been swept up in the immigration reporting frenzy of Secure Communities. In addition he doesn't want immigrants in Arlington that are victims of or witnesses to a crime to be afraid to report it.

"We want to follow all the federal and state laws. But we can do that without creating this hostile sentiment and divisive environment," he says. "That's not Arlington."