Posted on Wed, Jun. 20, 2007
Gaston jail teams up with immigration
AMY RAINEY
arainey@charlotteobserver.com

The Gaston County jail has begun checking inmates' immigration status as part of a partnership with national Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

On May 21, the Gaston County Sheriff's Office received final approval from ICE, allowing the jail to hold people on immigration charges for up to 72 hours. Ten deputies received the authority and training to check immigration status in February, and the computers that can access ICE databases were installed in March.

Sheriff Alan Cloninger had hoped to have the program running by late March, but was awaiting this final approval.

Mecklenburg and Alamance counties also are part of the ICE program, and 15 other N.C. counties have applied, ICE spokesman Michael Gilhooly said.

Since April, the deputies have been checking inmates' immigration status part-time, Cloninger said.

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