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Tough on Illegal Immigrants

Last Edited: Monday, 23 Oct 2006, 6:59 PM EDT
Created: Monday, 23 Oct 2006, 6:58 PM EDT

FOX8 Photojournalist Kenny Cravens
Forsyth County -- Forsyth County Commissioners are trying to finalize a policy towards Illegal immigrants. Specifically, county leaders want to pass a law requiring all county employees or workers doing any business with the county must have legal status.

Illegals, according to Forsyth District Attorney Tom Keith, “are the new face of organized crime in America.”

Keith says in just six months, the number of validated gang members in Forsyth County has more than doubled. Winston-Salem police officers have confirmed that 11 of the 16 known gangs are Hispanic.

In April, Keith testified before Congress that one-third of all people serving jail time for drugs in North Carolina are Hispanic.

Some county commissioners want to explore the option of letting sheriff's deputies take part in a federal program that trains local officers to arrest and detain illegal immigrants.

Keith says that alone won’t solve what he calls a huge problem.

“There is no simple solution,” said Keith.

County commissioners say the employment proposal is more of a formality. The county already follows federal guidelines and only hires those with legal status.