Wake jail to check immigration status
By Michael Biesecker, Staff Writer
Nov 5, 2007

RALEIGH -- Wake Sheriff Donnie Harrison will get a dozen new officers to check the immigration status of those coming into the county jail.
Wake commissioners voted 7-0 this afternoon to grant the sheriff the officers, who will coordinate with federal officials to deport those found to be in this country illegally.

The full-time positions will cost an estimated $539,341 per year, not including an additional $89,975 in initial costs to get the program running.

Four North Carolina counties have adopted such programs, and at least a dozen more are working to implement similar local measures to enforce federal immigration laws.

Harrison said that under ideal conditions, federal money would pay to perform what has historically been a federal responsibility. But in the absence of such a commitment of resources, he said the money would be a good investment by Wake County taxpayers.

"We have people who come to our jail who are committing crimes that we don't have a clue whether they're giving us the right name, especially if they were born outside the United States," Harrison said. "We've found out several times in some cases, once we did some research through [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] that they were not here legally."

A similar program in operation in Mecklenburg County since 2006 found that about 5 percent of those booked into jail were undocumented immigrants. Harrison expects a similar percentage to be identified in his jail once the operation is in place.

Immigrant advocates and civil rights groups oppose such programs, saying that they make immigrants less likely to report crimes or assist police in investigations. The increased focus on immigration status can also lead to profiling of Hispanics, critics say.

With the approval of commissioners, the Wake Sheriff's Office will now seek a formal agreement with federal authorities to allow county personnel to identify, process and detain immigration offenders.

Harrison said he hoped the program would be in place by the end of the current fiscal year, which ends in June.

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