Attorney General Jerry Brown Jr. declined San Francisco Sheriff Michael Hennessey’s request to allow the county to opt out of the Secure Communities. The federal program which matches fingerprints of arrestees to criminal and immigration databases will be implemented nationwide by 2013. Currently, the program is in 179 counties in 20 states.

“In these matters, statewide uniformity makes sense,” Brown wrote. “This is not simply a local issue. Many of the people booked in local jails end up in state prison or go on to commit crimes in other counties or states.”

It’s been unclear whether local police can opt out of the program.

San Francisco is not the only city that is trying to block implementation of Secure Communities. Earlier this month, D.C. City Council members voted unanimously to introduce a bill that would make the District the first jurisdiction in the country to ban Secure Communities. Read more about the D.C. bill to ban Secure Communities.

In April, Arizona passed the nation’s strictest immigration law, SB 1070, which requires local police to demand proof of citizenship if they suspect a person is undocumented. The passage of this law sparked heated debate, resulting in boycotts to the state. However, it also brought into the question the Secure Communities program which some see promoting racial profiling at the cost of public safety.