Thread: Sen. Dole discusses immigration at Carolina Beach

Sen. Dole discusses immigration at Carolina Beach
Submitted by WWAY on 16 October 2007 - 6:26pm.

WILMINGTON -- Illegal immigration brought Sen. Elizabeth Dole to Carolina Beach Tuesday. She was there to discuss a new program for law enforcement.

Sen. Dole met with sheriffs from across the state to discuss a program that will help law enforcement identify and eventually deport illegal immigrants who commit crimes.

That was the case last year in Brunswick County when Ramiro Gallegos, an illegal immigrant, plead guilty to the drunken driving accident that killed a man and left his wife in a coma.

This program delegates the authority of identifying illegal immigrants to county sheriffs departments. Up until this point they have not had the ability to effectively identify illegal aliens to take action toward deportation.

Brunswick County Sheriff Ron Hewett said, "So many times we have illegal immigrants come into our jail under a name, new names each time, and we really don't know who these people are, whether they're here legally or illegally, and what kind of criminal activity they've been involved in."

One of the tools law enforcement officers will use to identify illegal aliens is a national database that will be shared between local and federal authorities.

So far Alamance, Cabarrus, Gaston and Mecklenburg Counties have already partnered with ICE through a program started in 1996 that trains and certifies local law enforcement officers. Those counties have access to several ICE programs, including one that helps identify illegal immigrants processed at jails and prisons.

An estimated 400,000 illegal immigrants live in North Carolina, and sheriffs across the state have said they are taking up an increasingly larger share of jail beds.

www.wwaytv3.com

Dole Announces that N.C. Sheriffs to Partner with Federal Immigration Officials to Identify, Apprehend and Remove Criminal Illegal Aliens
First state in the nation to have statewide plan

Tuesday, Oct 16, 2007 - 01:59 PM Updated: 05:19 PM

By Press Release
Carolina Beach, N.C. – U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole today announced that North Carolina has been designated as the first state in the nation to have a statewide plan for sheriffs to partner with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to effectively handle illegal aliens who have committed crimes. Under the plan, ICE will provide programs and services that will support the specific needs of sheriffs throughout North Carolina.

Dole, who met with more than 40 sheriffs in August and attended the plan’s unveiling at the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association fall meeting today, has facilitated discussions between ICE officials and North Carolina sheriffs in recent months to help local law enforcement access the resources they need.

“Through this unique partnership with federal officials, North Carolina sheriffs can utilize the available tools to enforce our laws and help ensure that North Carolinians feel safe in their homes and communities,â€

This is why we love Senator Dole in North Carolina! What this country needs is 50 Senator Doles and 50 Senator Sessions, one each per state. Then this country would be on the right track.

I'm getting envious but at least there are some states that have leaders who realize who they work for and have their priorities straight.

At one time people moved west, well, watch out, probably many are heading back east. Wish I could!

I know what you mean Jean, California will probably be the last state to get this program if ever.

Federal immigration officials seek partnership with N.C. sheriffs
By MIKE BAKER - Associated Press Writer

RALEIGH, N.C. --U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials offered Tuesday to help sheriff's departments throughout North Carolina enforce federal immigration law at the local level, opening the door to several of its programs on a statewide level for the first time.

The offer came Tuesday at the North Carolina Sheriff's Association's fall meeting in Carolina Beach, spurred in part by a standing request from 23 law enforcement agencies in the state seeking an alliance with federal authorities to help them enforce the nation's immigration laws. That's the most from any state, officials said.

"North Carolina sheriff's offices have demonstrated an unprecedented interest in partnering with ICE," Julie Myers, the assistant secretary of homeland security for ICE, said in a statement. "By working together in a coordinated manner, we plan to develop a statewide alliance that is both effective and sustainable and will enhance public safety in the state."

So far, four North Carolina sheriff's departments - Alamance, Cabarrus, Gaston and Mecklenburg - are among the 33 local law enforcement agencies nationwide to have partnered with ICE through a program started in 1996 that trains and certifies local law officers to enforce federal immigration law.

Rather than continue to partner with local departments on an individual basis, the new effort is designed to open that program and several others, including one that helps identify illegal immigrants processed at jails and prisons, to every sheriff's office in the state.

"I firmly believe that North Carolina can become a model for the nation on how to identify, apprehend and remove undocumented aliens who have self identified themselves by committing crimes," North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole, who facilitated discussions between ICE and state sheriffs, said in a statement. "Today is a significant step in that direction."

An estimated 400,000 illegal immigrants live in North Carolina, and sheriffs across the state have said they are taking up an increasingly larger share of jail beds. In Wake County, Sheriff Donnie Harrison has said up to 15 percent of the inmates in the county jail might be illegal immigrants.

In Mecklenburg County, Sheriff Jim Pendergraph has proposed building a separate, 1,500-bed detention facility for detained illegal immigrants. Since partnering with ICE 15 months ago, Pendergraph said, his department has identified more than 3,000 illegal immigrants.

"It has been even more successful than I ever dreamed," said Pendergraph, who will leave his job in December to serve as the agency's first executive director of state and local coordination.

Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell, the president of the North Carolina Sheriff's Association, said the proposal wasn't designed to begin a "wholesale roundup" of illegals immigrants, but rather help deport those who commit crimes.

"It's a win-win, especially for our citizens and communities we serve," Bizzell said.

But immigrant advocates fear the agreements will encourage discrimination and discourage immigrants from trusting law enforcement. Local officers don't have the expertise to enforce the nation's "incredibly complex" immigration laws, said Dani Martinez-Moore, coordinator of the Network of Immigrant Advocates at the N.C. Justice Center.

"Even if there is some training available for local law enforcement, it would not be sufficient to help police officers or sheriffs understand the shades of gray in immigration," she said. "Some folks are in fact legally present when it's not clear from just one piece of paper that that's the case."

Katherine Lewis Parker, legal director for the North Carolina chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the group is already investigating a number of complaints of racial profiling. She and Martinez-Moore worry entire communities could be put at greater risk if immigrants are reluctant to seek help from local law enforcement agencies.

"They will be much less likely to come forward to report crimes or to report domestic violence if they feel they or whoever they report are going to be implicated for immigration violations," Parker said.
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/564/story/220021.html

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Originally Posted by zeezil

This is why we love Senator Dole in North Carolina! What this country needs is 50 Senator Doles and 50 Senator Sessions, one each per state. Then this country would be on the right track.

I will swap you 2 Lindsey Grahams for one Lizzie Dole, ppppppppppllleeeaaassseeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by zeezil

This is why we love Senator Dole in North Carolina! What this country needs is 50 Senator Doles and 50 Senator Sessions, one each per state. Then this country would be on the right track.

Isn't that the truth. When I call other Senators across the nation I tell them my zip code and I tell them I'm in sanctuary area PLEASE HELP US by voting such-and-such because my senators are useless.

We need to get as much as we can out of Dole before the elections.

Too bad we cant fund the special program, but she gave it the old college try.

Who knows if Dole will become as timid as Burr is on immigration after the election. After all, Dole was pretty quiet up to about a year ago.

Now if we had 50 Tancredo's, things would be much different.