The federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency provided conflicting info that led to a "pattern of deception" about whether California agencies could opt out of its Secure Communities fingerprint program.
Hundreds of e-mails led agencies to believe they could opt out of the mandatory program that provides fingerprints of arrestees to federal authorities.
Inconsistent guidance was provided to agencies in e-mails that, at times, were sent from unknown senders.
Source: Bay Citizen.