Thread: Most immigrati on detainees brought in on minor traffic viol

Most immigration detainees brought in on minor traffic violations
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July 5, 2008 - 11:00AM
By Barry Smith / Times-News
RALEIGH - Most of the people being detained and deported under a federal immigration enforcement program operated through county sheriff's departments are finding their way into jails and out of the country on routine traffic offenses.

The "287(g) program," in which federally trained deputies check out the immigration status of people who are arrested and taken to jails in Alamance and other North Carolina counties, is gaining popularity statewide as a way to control the population of illegal aliens.

Officials in Alamance and Gaston counties say the system works well. But some lawmakers say they're surprised that so many people are being processed through 287(g) on minor offenses.

Rep. Alice Bordsen, D-Alamance, said a lot of people were under the impression that the program screened people arrested on felony and driving while impaired charges. She co-chairs an oversight committee that checks on public safety and law enforcement issues.

"That's not at all what we were led to believe," Bordsen said about the statistics showing that most people detained aren't arrested on felony or DWI charges. "I would guess that more people would be less enthusiastic if they knew they were low-level violations."

Sgt. Jerry Williams of the Alamance County Sheriff's Department said that out of the 235 people placed on illegal immigrant detainers this year, 164 were for traffic violations, mostly for driving without an operator's license.

An additional 39 were on DWI charges and 25 were on assault charges. Thirty-seven were for felony charges.

"Everybody that is not U.S. born is screened," said Randy Jones, a spokesman for the Alamance County Sheriff's Department.

Traffic violations were by far the No. 1 charge filed against aliens coming into the Gaston County Jail in June. There were 30 traffic charges. The next highest was five drug charges.



ALAMANCE AND GASTON counties aren't the only departments in the federal partnership but both are among the state's leaders. Mecklenburg County has operated a 287(g) program for years. Alamance and Gaston counties began operating the immigration program last year. Cabarrus County recently started one, said Eddie Caldwell, executive vice president of the N.C. Sheriff's Association.

New 287(g) programs have been approved for sheriff's offices in Wake, Cumberland and Henderson counties, Caldwell said.

Caldwell said any misconception about the program could have come from previous legislation which called for officers to ask people charged with felonies or DWI about their citizenship.

Tony Asion, executive director of El Pueblo, a Hispanic advocacy group in Raleigh, also suggested that that ads by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., could have led to the perception that the program was geared toward people charged with more serious crimes.

Dole is making immigration enforcement an issue in her re-election bid. She has met with sheriffs - including Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson regarding immigration and is a supporter of the 287(g) program.

In one of her campaign ads, sheriffs refer to Dole's help with immigration programs and use the phrases "hardened criminals" and "repeat offenders."

"The idea of the 287(g) program and the way it's being sold to the public is that we're getting rid of the criminal element," Asion said. "The majority of the people being deported are not felons. Very few are felons."



WILLIAMS SAID every person who is arrested and brought into the Alamance County Jail is supposed to be asked where he or she was born.

"If you come into the jail and you are foreign born, we're going to question you on what your immigration status is," Williams said.

The same is true in Gaston County, said Sgt. J.R. Hughes. He said Gaston County sheriff's deputies ask pertinent questions, including where they were born, to everybody arrested and brought into the jail.

If the officers have reason to believe the person isn't telling the truth, they can do more checking, Hughes said. One sign that a person might not have been born in the United States is that the person has difficulty speaking English, he said.

People from Puerto Rico, where Spanish and English are spoken, can also be checked out, Hughes said. Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens.

"There's nothing saying I cannot run a Puerto Rican on my machine just to check him," Hughes said.

Jones and Hughes emphasize that deputies aren't going out into the public and searching for immigrants who are in the country illegally.

Jones said that even though many of those given immigration detainers were originally arrested for traffic offenses, a traffic charge isn't a deportable crime.

"The fact is, people who are getting caught on traffic violations would be deportable if they were just found on the street," Jones said.

The traffic charge was simply the way the illegal alien was found, Jones said.

Jones added that crime victims aren't screened. "You've got to be under arrest," he said.


http://www.thetimesnews.com/articles/pe ... mance.html

Being here illegally is enough to deport your ass....the rest is icing on the cake....lights on the candle or whatever you might say.

Jones said that even though many of those given immigration detainers were originally arrested for traffic offenses, a traffic charge isn't a deportable crime.

Being here illegally is, what's the point of that comment? If driving without a license and not having a legal ID is reason enough to jail a legal citizen, then it's enough to pick up and deport someone here illegally in my book.

Most of the people being detained and deported under a federal immigration enforcement program operated through county sheriff's departments are finding their way into jails and out of the country on routine traffic offenses.

So? I don't see a problem with that. I think it's fantastic that 287(g) is working to identify and deport illegal aliens. I don't care HOW they catch them (dealing drugs, traffic violations, fights, work raids, fraud, ID theft etc.), I just want to see ENFORCEMENT of our laws against illegal aliens!

There is NO difference between an illegal alien selling drugs and one driving without a license, they are BOTH illegal aliens and should be deported!

If they were truly in the shadows, they wouldn't be thumbing their noses at our laws and breaking them every day. Want to prevent them from re-entering illegally? Deport their ENTIRE families with them! Deport them together, so we don't "divide" the families, because they surely cannot remain here!