Thread: N.C.: Program That Checks Immigration Status Of Arrestees To

Program That Checks Immigration Status Of Arrestees To Continue In Charlotte
Posted: 4:13 pm EDT October 15, 2009
Updated: 6:19 pm EDT October 15, 2009

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With only days to go before the deadline, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Chipp Bailey signed an agreement to keep an immigration program at the jail.

The 287(g) program started in 2006 in Mecklenburg County. The Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office was the first sheriff's office east of Phoenix to adopt the program that trains deputies to check for illegal immigrants and start the deportation process.

The Department of Homeland Security wrote up a new Memorandum of Agreement, or MOA, for every agency in the country participating in the program. Some of the changes didn't work in Mecklenburg County, the sheriff said.

Local agencies would be restricted in what they could tell the public, but Bailey said it would violate state open records laws.

There were also requirements at the jail with which the sheriff's office didn't agree. Illegal immigrants at the jail would be treated differently, including given free phone calls -- something other inmates aren't offered.

Bailey's attorneys worked with Homeland Security attorneys to make changes to the agreement. Bailey signed it on Tuesday, and he hopes Homeland Security officials sign off on the changes as well.

The new rules are also meant to stop police who seek out potential illegal immigrants and arrest them just to see if they're in the country legally.

Some departments across the country use task forces as part of the 287(g) program to round up potential immigrants. Mecklenburg County checks their immigration status only once they step into the jail.

Immigration legislation is also changing to focus on violent illegals and prioritizing who should be deported.

Bailey said as long as the program is at the Mecklenburg County Jail, they'll screen everyone who walks in the door, no matter with which crime they're arrested in connection.

"If they do not break the law, they won't come to the jail and the 287(g) program. It's just that simple," Bailey said.

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/21308091/detail.html

Good job Sheriff Bailey!!