Thread: NC - Myrick stands up for immigrant ID program

Myrick stands up for immigrant ID program
Franco Ordonez
Published: Tue, Mar. 10, 2009 12:30AMModified Tue, Mar. 10, 2009 01:24AM

State and local leaders Monday defended a $40 million federal program used by Mecklenburg County that identifies jailed illegal immigrants -- after a congressional report criticized it for targeting minor offenders instead of serious criminals.

U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick, a Charlotte Republican who lobbied for the program, said the report last week by the Government Accountability Office is biased and unfair. "The administration, I'm concerned, is laying the groundwork frankly to gut the 287(g) program," Myrick said in a news conference. "And this to me says we're giving up on the fight on illegal immigration. Period."

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement program--known as 287(g) -- rose to national prominence after being put in place in 2006 by Jim Pendergraph, then Mecklenburg sheriff. It gives local law enforcement the federal powers to determine the immigration status of those they arrest.


But the report by the GAO, the nonpartisan investigative arm of Congress, says the program was created to address serious crimes, such as gangs and narcotics smuggling.

It found that some law enforcement agencies have used it to deport people for such minor offenses as speeding. The GAO studied 29 of the 67 local agencies that participate, including the Mecklenburg Sheriff's Office.

Mecklenburg Sheriff Chipp Bailey, who succeeded Pendergraph, said whether a crime is minor or serious "is in the eyes of the beholder."

Maudia Melendez, head of Jesus Ministry, said 287(g) leads to racial profiling.

Bailey dismissed that claim. He provided statistics that showed fewer Latino men were arrested on traffic violations than black or white men.


http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1435736.html

Updated 03/09/2009 10:07 PM
Myrick, sheriffs defend 287g enforcement
By: Aaron Mesmer




CHARLOTTE -- Rep. Sue Myrick, R-Charlotte, was joined by current and former Mecklenburg County sheriffs Monday to clear up some of the questions about the 287g immigration program at a news conference Monday.

The program is intended to target illegal immigrants who commit major crimes, but two recent studies showed that in some cases it might be affecting the wrong people.

One of those studies – a report from the Government Accountability Office – showed that many illegal immigrants have been arrested and deported for minor crimes like traffic violations. The office feels that law enforcement agencies haven't been properly trained on the program.

"It tells you that the program is being misused," German De Castro, with the Hispanic Democratic Party, said.

But the sheriff’s office disagrees.

“The 287g removes the criminal element from the immigrant community,â€