Posted: Tuesday, June 25, 2013 5:00 pm | Updated: 5:03 pm, Tue Jun 25, 2013.
By Sarah Newell Williamson
news-record.com


photo courtesy of the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office.
Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page addresses the media at the Charlotte Convention Center. Gathered behind him are sheriffs from across North Carolina and the nation who oppose the U.S. Senate Immigration Bill.



CHARLOTTE — Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page spoke out against a proposed federal immigration bill Monday as he joined other sheriffs at the annual National Sheriff’s Association conference.

“This appears to be a push for amnesty,” Page said. “We need to secure our border before we do anything else.”

Page is co-vice chairman of the border security and immigration committee for the National Sheriffs’ Association. He said his statement was not sponsored by the national group, although some group members joined him in opposing the bill.

Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes was not among the sheriffs who expressed opposition to the bill at the conference on Monday.

The bill in the U.S. Senate nearly doubles the number of border patrol agents to 40,000 and completes 700 miles of fencing. It also includes drone aircraft and long-range thermal imaging cameras, according to The Associated Press.

Immigrants would follow a 10-year process to gain permanent legal status with green cards. After 13 years, they can become citizens.

However, under one of the bill’s other provisions, the legalization process would not start until a specified number of border patrol officers are hired.

Page said before a comprehensive immigration bill should be examined, the nation should make security at both borders a top priority.

He also said the nation should beef up its “interior mechanism,” — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

“They’re our next line of defense,” he said. “Without them, we’ll fail.”

One of Page’s chief problems with the bill is that he said it was drafted by Congress without consulting state and local law enforcement agencies.

“If I could trust (their) will and desire to truly protect the borders, I could support (the bill),” Page said.

Rockingham County does not have the illegal immigration problem to the extent other counties may have, the sheriff said, but he is concerned a problem could develop in the future.

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