Thread: Top cops talk immigration at area forum

GREENSBORO — Local law enforcement officials faced harsh questions Wednesday night about the impact a 287(g) immigration program could have on immigrants and overall public safety in Guilford County.


Sheriff BJ Barnes and Greensboro police Chief Tim Bellamy participated in a public discussion for 21/2 hours at the International Christian Church on South Elm-Eugene Street.

Nearly every seat was filled and a line went out the door. About 200 people attended.


Barnes is close to beginning a version of a 287(g) program here. He is waiting for clearance from federal authorities in Washington.


In essence, the program would allow suspects who are arrested to be checked against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement database to determine whether they are legal U.S. residents or authorized visitors when they are booked into the county jail..


If suspects are in the country illegally, they would be denied bond and housed at the county jail until the criminal case is resolved in local courts.


Then, the suspects would be turned over to federal immigration officials, who would hold them until a federal court date or until they are released on a promise to appear in federal court.


Barnes said the decision to join the 287(g) program was one of efficiency: The sheriff’s office can learn if suspects are undocumented in a matter of minutes, instead of days. If suspects are here illegally, Barnes said the program would move them into federal custody as quickly as possible.


“We are not going out and trying to do ICE’s job,â€

[quote]Walker also expressed concerns about safety, saying she and her 7-year-old daughter have to travel through a bad neighborhood to get home at night and she worries about what would happen if she was carjacked, shot at or worse and the only witness was an illegal resident.


“God forbid the only person who witnesses that is an undocumented immigrant who knows that individual in there (Barnes) is going to detain him, if he cannot prove his status for only coming forward to help me and my daughter,â€

[quote]Walker also expressed concerns about safety, saying she and her 7-year-old daughter have to travel through a bad neighborhood to get home at night and she worries about what would happen if she was carjacked, shot at or worse and the only witness was an illegal resident.


“God forbid the only person who witnesses that is an undocumented immigrant who knows that individual in there (Barnes) is going to detain him, if he cannot prove his status for only coming forward to help me and my daughter,â€