Thread: N.C.: Buncombe, Henderson sheriffs await word on aid for imm

Buncombe, Henderson sheriffs await word on aid for immigration enforcement


By Jon Ostendorff
jostendorff@citizen-times.com
October 12, 2007 12:15 am
ASHEVILLE — Buncombe and Henderson county sheriffs may find out as early as next week whether they and 15 others in North Carolina will partner with federal authorities in deporting illegal immigrants who break local laws.

The agent in charge of the partnership program for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is expected to talk with North Carolina sheriffs at an annual gathering, Henderson County Sheriff Rick Davis said Thursday.

The N.C. Sheriff’s Association meeting at Carolina Beach starts Monday and ends Wednesday.

Davis, whose county has one of the largest Hispanic communities in Western North Carolina, applied for the federal 287(g) program last year, but the request has not yet been accepted.

Buncombe County Sheriff Van Duncan met with members of the Hispanic community Wednesday night to explain his plan to apply for the program. About 500 people were at the meeting.

The partnership allows local law enforcement officers, trained by the federal government, to deport people who are in the United States illegally if they are arrested on charges of other crimes.

Often, the illegal immigrants are deported after serving their sentences.

Mike Gilhooly, a spokesman for the immigration agency, said Thursday that it is considering applications from 70 law enforcement departments nationwide. He said 33 have been trained since the first agency signed up in Florida in 2001.

The program’s popularity has spiked in the last three years, Gilhooly said, as local law enforcement agencies turn to it as a way to remove criminals from the community.

But the move has drawn criticism from Hispanic communities across the nation.

People at the meeting in Asheville said they fear the program would mean less cooperation in solving crimes because of fears of deportation.

Local businessman Gustavo Silva said people who are in the country illegally should be held accountable for crimes and possibly deported in cases of violent crimes. But he doesn’t want to see his local law enforcement doing that kind of work.

“I think the federal government should take care of immigration, not the local authorities,â€

Buncombe, Henderson sheriffs hope to make immigration policing a national model


By Adam Behsudi
ABEHSUDI@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM
October 18, 2007 12:15 am
HENDERSONVILLE — Buncombe and Henderson County sheriffs announced Wednesday their plan to become a national model and regional hub for a program that would give local law enforcement officers power to enforce immigration policy at county jails.

The N.C. Sheriff’s Association said this week it would partner with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to help train local detention officers. The plan would allow deportation of illegal immigrants charged with crimes to begin on the local level.

The program in both counties should be rolled out within a year with progress made at the 90- and 180-day marks, said Henderson County Sheriff Rick Davis at a press conference.

North Carolina, which will spend $750,000, is the first state to work with the federal government on starting statewide implementation of the program also known at 287(g).

“Nobody can argue with the deportation of a criminal,â€