Thread: Program Federalizes Deputies To Process Illegal Aliens

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/6784297/detail.html

POSTED: 10:38 am EST February 6, 2006
UPDATED: 2:08 pm EST February 6, 2006

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A new program will federalize 10 Mecklenburg County deputies so that they can help U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detain and remove illegal aliens.

The program is the first of its kind to be implemented by a sheriff's office east of the Mississippi.

The announcement was made by Representative Sue Myrick, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Jim Pendergraph and ICE Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge Jeffrey S. Jordan.

"This new program changes how North Carolina responds to illegal aliens," said Rep. Myrick. "We have a shortage of federal agents to deal with illegal aliens in our state, and this program provides us with some much needed back up. My hope is that every county in North Carolina sees what we are doing here and applies to set up a similar program with ICE."

ICE said it will train 10 deputies to carry out certain duties traditionally handled by federal immigration officers. The Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office deputies will operate within the Mecklenburg County Jail facilities to interview foreign national inmates to determine whether there is probable cause for an immigration violation; complete the processing for criminal aliens, including fingerprinting; prepare documentation to place aliens in deportation proceedings concurrent with their prison term; and prepare documentation to deport aliens following their terms.

In addition, they will refer criminal aliens to the ICE Office of Investigations for potential criminal prosecutions.

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/13805555.htm

Posted on Mon, Feb. 06, 2006
2:24 pm | Local deputies to check for illegals
MICHELLE CROUCHmcrouch@charlotteobserver.com

U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Jim Pendergraph and U.S. immigration officials announced a new program Monday to give local law enforcement officers more power to process illegal immigrants for deportation.

Under the program, ten sheriff's deputies will undergo four weeks of training to become certified federal immigration officers.

They will then begin checking the immigration status every person processed through Mecklenburg County jail, using a federal database that contains photographs, fingerprints and other information.

Those who have been deported before or with the most egregious crimes will likely be deported, officials said.

"For too long, illegal aliens have really just flouted the law," said Myrick, who has been an outspoken supporter of stiffer immigration laws. "With this program we hope we can identify those people, detain them and send them back home."

The training is scheduled to start March 14.

The Sheriff's Office will pay for the $650,0000 program with extra money it received from the federal government this year for housing federal inmates in the county jail.

Only five other such programs exist nationwide.

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/my ... 806175.htm

Posted on Mon, Feb. 06, 2006
Sheriff's deputies to screen for illegals among jail inmates
TIM WHITMIREAssociated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Sheriff's deputies will match the names of inmates entering North Carolina's largest jail against a federal database of illegal immigrants starting later this year, Mecklenburg Sheriff Jim Pendergraph and Rep. Sue Myrick announced Monday.

Ten deputies trained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security will also interview foreign nationals as they enter the jail to help learn whether the detainees have had prior contact with the federal immigration system.

Officials say they hope the change will allow fewer illegal immigrants with criminal histories to be set free with a promise to appear in court, instead of being held for deportation.

"For too long, illegal aliens have really just flaunted the law," said Myrick, R-Charlotte. "We've got the good old catch-and-release program, and local authorities can't do anything, so you're back on the street again."

Federal and local officials will share costs of the program, which begins next month with the deputies going to Washington next month to learn how to interview, process and document illegal aliens and work with ICE to deport them once any prison terms have been served, Pendergraph said.

People arrested on criminal charges without documentation of U.S. citizenship will have fingerprints and other identifying characteristics checked against the federal database. For those identified within the system, a past criminal record could become the basis for tougher bond conditions or deportation, Pendergraph said. Those without a database record will have their information entered, allowing future tracking.

Local police are not involved in the initiative, Pendergraph said, and sheriff's deputies will not search the community for illegal immigrants.

Jeffrey S. Jordan, the Charlotte-based special agent in charge of North Carolina for ICE, said the initiative - which parallels programs already in use in Alabama and Florida and in the planning stage in Arizona and the Los Angeles area - should reduce the number of criminal illegal immigrants set free.

"One hundred percent of those who need to be detained will be detained in the Mecklenburg County Jail," he said. "There won't be any slipping through the cracks."

Immigration has been a hot topic in North Carolina in recent months as the state's Hispanic population continues to swell. Several high-profile cases have made headlines in the Charlotte area.

Last summer, a Mexican immigrant was charged in a drunken driving accident in coastal Brunswick County that killed a Gaston County teacher; in November, a Mexican native was charged with driving drunk during a fatal head-on collision that killed a University of North Carolina at Charlotte student.

Both drivers had faced similar charges in the past while in the country illegally but either were not deported or returned to the United States after being sent out of the country.

Myrick, a former Charlotte mayor and potential gubernatorial candidate in 2008, has spoken out in recent months about the need for tighter border controls and estimates North Carolina's illegal immigrant population at 300,000 and climbing.

She and Pendergraph both said local authorities are doing all they can, but that it's up President Bush and Congress to deal with the larger problem. Myrick noted that the Senate is due to take up a bill in March to increase penalties for businesses that hire illegal workers. She and other House members approved a similar bill in December.

"This is not the resolution to all our illegal immigration problems," Pendergraph said of Monday's announcement. "Until Congress and the president do something to tighten our border security, we're going to be fighting a battle I'm not sure we alone can win."

Many expect immigration to be a key issue in this year's midterm election. Bay Buchanan, brother of former presidential candidate Pat Buchanan, appeared at a pair of immigration reform events last week in Charlotte and Winston-Salem, and the Charlotte event drew large numbers of Latinos and immigration supporters who protested Buchanan's message.

I am disgusted that illegal immigrants seem to have the same rights as citizens of the great state of N.C. and what has me even more upset is that they will not learn English.

As a recently naturalized U.S. citizen of this great country, it has taken me over 6 long years, and thousands of dollars, to get to where I am today. One form alone from the INS cost $470.00 at that time to submit for consideration.


As I began this process, I was amazed at the costs involved. Each form had to be accompanied by a check. In addition, my wife and I were required to take many trips back and forth to the Charlotte INS office (now under the auspices of the Dept. of Homeland Security) because there is no office available to serve the Asheville area, despite there being many illegals in this area. This was particularly hard on my wife and I as I was prohibited from working and earning a wage until all of these forms were approved and I was issued a permit to work, in spite of the fact that we were required to file our taxes jointly. I actually had to pay taxes before I was allowed to work and earn wages to pay taxes on!



When the time came for me to submit to my INS physical, the closest INS doctor was in Greenville, SC, which required two trips so that my TB test could be read a week later, in addition to the $300 costs of the physical and x-rays. Also, were it not for the intervention of then-Senator Jesse Helms, I would have been required to repeat this process (and pay for it!) a second time, because your INS physical is only good for two years.



During this entire process, I had to depend on my wife to be my official “sponsorâ€

Hi celtic58!

In the US, illegal aliens are treated BETTER than citizens while we're forced to pay for all their freebies as they take our jobs, overcrowd our schools and emergency rooms, etc.

Something's definitely wrong with this system but we'll get it fixed come next election day!