Thread: A Movement Begins: Code Name 287(g)

A Movement Begins: Code Name 287(g)

Preface: For weeks, NC WANTED researched and investigated the 287(g) immigration enforcement program in North Carolina. In response to 287(g), we witnessed advocacy groups speaking out, sheriffs putting themselves on the hot seat, and a growing divide between those who hate 287(g) and those who love it.

A Movement Begins

He could be described as North Carolina’s founding father of 287(g).

In 1972, former sheriff of Mecklenburg County Jim Pendergraph took an oath to protect the public by upholding the laws of the land. His life-long dedication eventually led him to push the limits of local law enforcement by tackling one of the nation’s most daunting challenges - illegal immigration.

According to the Center for Immigration Studies, an estimated 11 million people are in this country illegally at a time when our country faces a strain on the economy, the health care system, social services, unemployment, the courts and an overcrowded prison system.

A few years ago, while he was still sheriff, Pendergraph began crunching numbers. His sheriff’s office was spending more and more money each year on interpreters. He was scrambling for resources to process the growing number of foreign-born, non-English-speaking arrestees.

Pendergraph found a solution in a program called 287(g), named for a paragraph in the 1996 Immigration and Nationality Act that allows local and state law enforcement agencies to partner with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to gain access to federal resources in the fight against crime.

Soon, Pendergraph became a champion of 287(g). He launched the program in Mecklenburg County in 2006. It was the first of its kind in North Carolina and east of Arizona. His hawkish efforts made North Carolina a leader in local immigration enforcement. Under his leadership, Mecklenburg County identified and marked 2,000 illegal immigrants for deportation in its first year.

The folks at ICE in Washington, D.C. took notice.

Not long after his accomplishments with the program, Pendergraph was hired by ICE to become executive director for state and local coordination at ICE headquarters in Washington.

Pendergraph is now in his last days with ICE. He recently resigned and will step down on October 24, 2008, just days before the November elections.

A Backlash

Facing pressure to crack down on the “illegalsâ€

Pendergraph acknowledges that traffic violations can and do result in deportation, but he believes catching individuals breaking immigration laws is the proper thing to do.

Why is 90% of North Carolina Citizens out of work and 95% of the jobs have hired undocumented immigrants without E-Verifying I-9s?

Requiring all employers to E-Verify I-9s through State's Unemployment Offices would catch 95% of the undocumented here in North Carolina.

The State's Unemployment Offices currently only E-Verify I-9s of AGRICULTURAL WORKERS.

related article
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-129474-pendergraph.html