MONROE, N.C. -- Although 11 people arrested in Union County over the weekend during multiagency counterfeit merchandise raid were discovered to be in the country illegally, Sheriff Eddie Cathey had to let them go.

"They posted bonds of $2,000 and all of them made bond," he said.

Had the suspects been arrested in Meckelenburg or Gaston counties, it would've been a different story.

That's because both of those counties are enrolled in the Immigration Customs and Enforcement 287-G program. It allows deputies trained by ICE to act as immigration agents.

Union County has applied to be a part of the program, but Cathey is still waiting for an answer from Washington, D.C.

"It's really frustrating, it's frustrating for the community, it's frustrating for law enforcement," he said.

Cathey says until he gets the ICE program, undocumented immigrants will keep coming to this county, and they'll continue to get out of jail and commit other crimes.

"If we don't have this, then we're the county the illegals will migrate to," he said. "Then it becomes a safe haven and we certainly are not going to have that."

Visit our immigration page to find out more about illegal immigration in the Carolinas and across the country.
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