Sheriff's Office applies for training program

Published: 11/26/2008


By Barbara P. Jacoby

The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office has applied for a federal program that trains deputies to aid in immigration enforcement.


Sheriff Roger Garrison said a "significant policy change" in the usage of the federal 287(g) Immigration and Nationality Act, which he previously opposed, has led him to seek the grant funding.

A decision could be made by federal officials in as soon as six months, he said. The sheriff's office's application is in the assessment review phase to determine if the program is needed in Cherokee.

The program trains and authorizes local law enforcement officers to identify, process and detain immigration offenders. Agencies approved for the program also receive funding to jail detainees.

In the past, Garrison has opposed the program due to overcrowding at the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center. The 512-bed center currently is housing 562 inmates.

Holding illegal immigrants indefinitely at the jail, he said, would be an irresponsible use of limited space better used to detain dangerous suspects.

So instead, the sheriff crafted his own version of the program through which deputies would contact U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) officials whenever an illegal immigrant was arrested. The ICE agent then would come to the jail and transport the inmate to its holding facility in Atlanta. So far this year, about 1,500 non-citizens have been arrested and, of those, about 40 were picked up by ICE agents.

The change in his opinion about 287(g), Garrison said, came a couple of months ago after speaking with a Gastonia, N.C., sheriff.

The Gastonia sheriff has a clause in his agency's 287(g) agreement with ICE that requires inmates be picked up within 72 hours. Garrison said the clause appears to be working there and preventing any long-time detainment issues that were the cause of his concerns.

"With this change, it is something we feel is more reasonable and workable without shifting an enormous tax burden to the county," Garrison said of 287(g). "We've always said we'd keep our minds open. Without that clause, I maintain it still would be physically irresponsible knowing we already have our jail overcrowded and with the economy the way it is. We'd be putting ourselves in a situation where we could not achieve a good outcome."

In the application, training is requested for nine deputies. Garrison said his staff already is well trained, but going through the 287(g)-funded training is necessary for the deputies to be recognized as meeting ICE criteria.

"When somebody illegal comes in, they readily admit they're from Mexico and here illegally. That's enough for me," Garrison said of illegal immigrants when they're booked in at the jail, noting the training may be useful in some cases. "There may be some you have to go the extra mile for to prove they're here illegally, but the majority admit they're here illegally."

The program does not mean deputies would be picking people up just because they may be in the U.S. illegally, Garrison said. The training is used to help determine whether people who are arrested on criminal charges are in the country illegally.

The slowed economy may be making illegal immigration less of a problem in Cherokee, Garrison noted. The percentage of illegal immigrants in the jail has declined from 17 percent earlier this year to 11 percent today.

Garrison added he thinks the 72-hour clause change in 287(g) may be the result of pressure being put on the federal government to be "more responsive to local needs."

"We're certainly willing to work with them if they're willing to work with us," Garrison said, noting that the "bigger issue of illegal immigration is going to be a never-ending problem until they secure the borders."


www.cherokeetribune.com