N.C. - Sheriff: Illegal immigrant program not going away
By Adam Lawson
Gazette staff
Posted at 11:49 AM
Updated at 11:49 AM
Gaston County’s sheriff says he stands firm in continuing to implement a controversial federal and local immigration collaboration at his local jail, even after newly elected sheriffs in the state’s two most populous counties have done away with the program.
Gaston is now one of only four counties in the state to support the program. Its involvement with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency began in February 2007, when Alan Cloninger and sheriffs in seven other North Carolina counties signed a deal allowing local officers to assume the powers of immigration agencies.
Last month, Wake and Mecklenburg counties became the latest to back away from the 287(g) program, which allows deputies to question foreign inmates about their residency, research their fingerprints to see if they’re in the country illegally and have the inmates held in jail without bond on an immigration detainer.
Federal immigration officers can then decide whether to begin the process for deportation.
Cloninger says the program has been a success and that it’s kept the community safer. He declined to comment on decisions made by sheriffs in other counties, but said he has no plan to disband the program here.
“We’ve never considered ending the program,” he said. “It’s a valuable tool to help ensure the public safety of the community. An overwhelming majority of folks who have talked to me about it support it, so we’re going to continue to keep that program.”
In campaigning for Mecklenburg County sheriff last year, Garry McFadden said the program erodes trust between law enforcement and the immigrant community, and that it takes time and resources away from law-enforcement purposes.
A University of California survey showed that undocumented immigrants were 61 percent less likely to report a crime and 43 percent less likely to report being the victim of a crime if they knew their local law enforcement worked with ICE.
Gastonia immigration attorney Ron Shook says he has represented many clients whose life in America is suddenly at risk after being charged with driving while impaired or driving without a license.
“I would say the large majority of folks I’m dealing with that are here unlawfully are charged with misdemeanors, non-felonious crimes,” Shook said. “The vast majority.”
Upholding the Constitution
Gaston County Commission Chairman Tracy Philbeck supports program.
“Here’s the deal,” said Philbeck. “Our sheriff and your other elected officials are sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States. When I swear, I swear I’ll uphold the Constitution of the United States of America. At the end of the day our No. 1 job is to provide for the safety and health of our citizens.
“This nutjob over here in Charlotte that’s willing to release all of the individuals who have been charged with different murders and drug offenses and everything else and allow them to run loose in the community. Charlotte is going to become a haven for sanctuary citizens, which is what it’s going to be now for that type of environment. That’s not going to be welcome in Gaston County.”
Cloninger says he’s spoken with Latino groups and that, in his mind, fairness isn’t an issue.
Illegal immigrants aren’t targeted just for living here, he said. But once they’re arrested, their status as residents should come into play.
“We’re not out searching for illegals,” Cloninger said. “You have to get arrested and you have to be brought to the jail, you have to go before a magistrate. It’s not that somebody pulls up and says we’re going to check you to see if you’re here illegally. That doesn’t work that way.”
Cloninger did say he can’t control whether ICE agents independent of the Sheriff’s Office conduct their own raids.
‘Breaking apart families’
Shook says he wouldn’t see 287(g) as a bad thing if it just targeted inmates who commit violent crimes.
But oftentimes, he says it’s nothing more than someone trying to raise a family caught up in a minor offense.
“They’re still human beings,” he said. “Everyone in this country is entitled to equal enforcement and protection under the law but you’re not just hurting the person who’s been arrested. This is breaking apart families. You’re penalizing children who rely on their father to make a living for their family. You’re penalizing employers who rely on these folks to work, and the nature of being here without permission needs to be balanced with the reason why they’ve come to be here without permission. A lot of folks, they don’t have any other viable option. They come from violent communities, they want a better life for their children and they feel like they don’t have a choice.”
Cloninger maintains the system is a “valuable tool” to ensure the community’s safety. He added that the moment someone decided to enter the country illegally, they’ve already broken the law.
And if they get arrested for something while they’re here, Philbeck says the process is fairly straight forward.
“When it comes to the laws of our country and the laws of our land, if you come to Gaston County and you commit a crime and you’re here illegally, what’s going to happen is we’re going to implement the 287(g) and have you deported,” he said.
One of four
Gaston County is now one of just four North Carolina counties to utilize the 287(g) program, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina. The others are Nash, Henderson and Cabarrus.
Across the country, 76 jurisdictions in 20 states operate some form of the agreement. Despite the corroboration, final decisions on deportations are left in the hands of federal judges.
Shook says, despite the arrangement, inmates with shaky immigration circumstances should be cautious about revealing anything to local deputies.
“They’re not required to say anything,” he said. “Be quiet and get a lawyer so that somebody like myself can come along and figure out what to do. They’re only going to hurt themselves because they’re here illegally.”
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