Asheville Latino advocates want end to immigration status checks
Latinos' minor offenses can lead to deportation
citizen-times.com
Written by John Boyle
10:10 PM, Sep. 3, 2011

Federal law intended to help county sheriffs identify illegal immigrants with criminal histories has led to the deportation of more than 400 people from Western North Carolina in less than three years .

More than 350 of those were arrested in Buncombe and Henderson counties alone.

But the program has drawn increasing criticism from Latino community advocates who say enforcement efforts have ensnared people with no criminal backgrounds who have secured jobs and developed community ties.

The message behind the program, Secure Communities, is clear for Nikki Morin, a coordinator with the Center for Participatory Change in Asheville, a grassroots organization that aims to help people transform their communities.

“It says law enforcement is casting a very, very wide net,â€