Thread: Latinos opt out of meeting

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Latinos opt out of meeting
The Charlotte Observer

February 28, 2007

Why get yourself in a situation that is not going to be a true dialogue? About 10 people attended a Tuesday meeting about a new program that will allow Gaston County deputies to check an inmate's immigration status. While the Belmont meeting was intended, in part, to explain the program to the Latino community, no Latinos attended.

To advertise the meeting, the Gaston County Sheriff's Office put up fliers in Latino grocery stores and around the county, Sheriff Alan Cloninger said. Cloninger said Tuesday night he heard people were afraid the meeting was a trap to arrest illegal immigrants.

Angeles Ortega-Moore, executive director of the Latin American Coalition in Charlotte, offered a different explanation. 'There's really a lot of intimidation going on in that community that people are not even comfortable going to that meeting,' she said Wednesday.

The sheriff's office was also scheduled to hold another meeting on the topic in Dallas on Wednesday night.

Following Mecklenburg, Gaston County is the second county in the state to start this program, which is a partnership with national Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Ten deputies at the Gaston County Jail have received the authority and training to check inmates' immigration status. The computers that can access ICE databases are being installed and Cloninger said he hopes to have the program running by late March.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement will foot the bill for training and computers. The program is not expected to cost the county additional money, but that could change if the sheriff's office needs more deputies to handle the workload, Cloninger said.

Cloninger said he doesn't know how many illegal immigrants come through the jail because, until now, there hasn't been a way to check. Of the 16,000 people booked into the Gaston County Jail in 2005, about 600 were born outside the United States, but Cloninger said he did not know how many of those people were here illegally.

Cloninger said he does not think the new program will lead to racial profiling.

'It will be my belief and desire that there will be no change in how we enforce the law,' he said.

After Cloninger explained the local program, Tuesday's meeting quickly turned into a debate on the national immigration issue, with many attendees saying this measure wasn't enough to prevent people from entering the country illegally. People said the government needs to do more to catch people who are in the country illegally, while this program will only apply to those who have been arrested for another offense, such as driving while intoxicated. The sheriff's office, Cloninger often responded, does not have the authority to arrest people for being in the country illegally.

Cloninger said the sheriff's office was doing what it could and suggested people contact U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick and other officials about the illegal immigration issue.

Dwaine Dameron of Belmont said he plans to contact Myrick. He said he wasn't satisfied with the program, calling it a 'politically correct, feel-good' effort. Dameron said he encounters many illegal immigrants through his work in the construction business and thinks the government should be targeting employers who hire illegal immigrants. 'I have friends losing work,' he said.

Ortega-Moore said she supported the intention of the meeting -- to explain the program -- but worried about the discussion becoming an attack on immigrants. 'Why get yourself in a situation that is not going to be a true dialogue?' she said. 'It wouldn't be of any interest to a lot of people if it becomes an attack.'

How Jail Program Works

While being booked into the jail, deputies will now ask inmates questions such as where they were born and where their parents were born.

If there is reasonable suspicion to believe an inmate is in the country illegally, he or she will be turned over to one of the ICE-trained deputies and an inmate's fingerprints and photos will be run through ICE databases.

If a person is found to be here illegally, the ICE-trained deputy can begin deportation procedures, giving the inmate a notice to appear in the Atlanta immigration court or, in cases of more extreme crimes, holding inmates until ICE officials pick them up.

Copyright © 2007 The Charlotte Observer, All Rights Reserved.

Well I'm guessing the ones who wouldn't show up ARE ILLEGAL. But that's just a guess...

Latinos don't want the status checked. They just want to come into the country and take what they want. Latinos don't care about laws and there are no family values.

I must apologize if this sounds general and I do realize that not all Latinos feel this way, but it seems more and more just want a corrupt society like what they had.