Thread: Federal immigration officials want alliance with N.C. sherif

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Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Federal immigration officials want alliance with N.C. sheriffs


THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


RALEIGH
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials offered today to help sheriff's departments throughout North Carolina enforce federal immigrations law at the local level, opening the door to its programs on a statewide level for the first time.

The offer came today at the N.C. Sheriff's Association's fall meeting in Carolina Beach, spurred in part by a standing request from 23 law-enforcement agencies in the state seeking an alliance with federal authorities to help them enforce the nation's immigration laws.

"North Carolina sheriff's offices have demonstrated an unprecedented interest in partnering with ICE," Julie Myers, the assistant secretary of homeland security for ICE, said in a statement. "By working together in a coordinated manner, we plan to develop a statewide alliance that is both effective and sustainable and will enhance public safety in the state."

So far, four North Carolina counties - Alamance, Cabarrus, Gaston and Mecklenburg - have already partnered with ICE through a program started in 1996 that trains and certifies local law- enforcement officers. Those counties have access to several ICE programs, including one that helps identify illegal immigrants processed at jails and prisons.

"I firmly believe that North Carolina can become a model for the nation on how to identify, apprehend and remove undocumented aliens who have self identified themselves by committing crimes," North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole, who facilitated discussions between ICE and state sheriffs, said in a statement. "Today is a significant step in that direction."

An estimated 400,000 illegal immigrants live in North Carolina, and sheriffs across the state have said they are taking up an increasingly larger share of jail beds. In Wake County, Sheriff Donnie Harrison has said up to 15 percent of the inmates in the county jail might be illegal immigrants.

In Mecklenburg County, Sheriff Jim Pendergraph has proposed building a separate, 1,500-bed detention facility for detained illegal immigrants. Since partnering with ICE 15 months ago, Pendergraph said, his department has identified more than 3,000 illegal immigrants.

"It has been even more successful than I ever dreamed," said Pendergraph, who will leave his job in December to serve as the agency's first executive director of state and local coordination.

Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell, the president of the N.C. Sheriff's Association, said the proposal wasn't designed to begin a "wholesale roundup" of illegals immigrants, but rather help deport those who commit crimes.

"It's a win-win, especially for our citizens and communities we serve," Bizzell said.

Unfortunately, the additional funding requested by Senator Dole for 287g programs fell short of approval by a vote of 52/40 just minutes ago. I hope there is already enough money earmarked in the program to bring these new counties online!