Thread: Immigration splits N.C. county

Posted on Sun, Apr. 19, 2009
Immigration splits N.C. county
Sheriff's tough stance fires emotions
By Kristin Collins
McClatchy Newspapers

The broad and swirling debate over illegal immigration doesn't have a fixed address, but it recently touched down in the heart of Alamance County.

In this growing county just west of North Carolina's Research Triangle, the debate has rival factions clashing on city streets and in the county commissioners chambers.

The fiery county sheriff, who has gained national notoriety for his rhetoric about the perils of illegal immigration, finds himself in the middle of it, fending off calls for an investigation into his treatment of Hispanics and quelling rowdy protests in front of his jail.

This month, citizen watchdogs forced Alamance Sheriff Terry Johnson to admit to "grossly underreporting" the number of Hispanics his officers pulled over in traffic stops in recent years. The revelation galvanized his critics, as well as his supporters, and a few days later on April 8, competing protesters gathered outside his jail in Graham.

The demonstrations ended with deputies arresting a woman dressed as the Statue of Liberty.

A county divided

The charged debate has split county residents into two camps: those who see the sheriff as a patriot fighting a tide of criminal immigrants, and those who see him as spokesman for a new wave of discrimination.

"It's not a racial issue or anything like that, it's just about law," said Kim Oliver, a Burlington concrete company owner who has organized several pro-sheriff demonstrations. "What would this country be without laws?"

Others say the sheriff's rhetoric echoes the civil rights struggles of the 1950s and '60s.

"To me, this is a test case for the resegregation of America," said Patrick O'Neill of Garner, who was arrested at the Graham protest. "Alamance County is a symbol of what could happen if the anti-immigrant backlash keeps gaining steam the way it is."

Johnson spokesman Randy Jones said the controversy has been manufactured mostly by the media and by advocates from outside the county. He said the sheriff remains committed to going after illegal immigrants who commit crimes.

"Some people just think the law shouldn't be enforced, and it doesn't make any sense," Jones said. "We've been overwhelmed with calls supporting us."

Deportation orders

The tensions stem from Johnson's decision to participate in a federal program known as 287(g), named for the provision of federal law that created it. He is one of nearly 70 sheriffs and police chiefs around the country, eight in North Carolina, who have joined the program. It allows local officers to check the immigration status of all those who come through the jail and to begin deportation proceedings.

The program has resulted in the deportation of more than 28,000 immigrants nationwide since 2002. In North Carolina, where the program was first used in 2006, more than 3,000 immigrants have been removed.

Its increasing popularity is partly a reflection of the federal government's inaction on immigration reform, which leaves communities to deal with rising numbers of unauthorized residents. The law enforcement program is one of a host of local actions nationwide, including cutting off driver's licenses for illegal immigrants and cracking down on their employers.

Immigrant and civil rights activists nationwide have called for reforming or ending the 287(g) program, because a large share of those deported from jails were arrested for minor traffic violations. They say it gives officers the power to jail Hispanics for minor infractions in order to target them for deportation.

The federal Government Accountability Office issued a report last month saying that the program was failing to achieve its objective - removing dangerous criminals - and instead was deporting people for speeding and urinating in public.

Controversial comments

In North Carolina, the program has made Alamance County a lightning rod, even while other agencies, including the Wake County Sheriff's Department and the Durham Police Department, have implemented it with little dissent. Many say Alamance has been elevated to prominence by the sheriff himself.

Johnson told the News & Observer in 2007, when he was just starting the program, that people from Mexico and other Latin American countries were more prone to drink heavily and commit crimes such as child molestation. "Their values are a lot different - their morals - than what we have here," he said.

In January, in a speech to the FIRE Coalition, a national anti-illegal immigration group, Johnson railed against Hispanics in general, saying they took 35 percent of North Carolina's jobs and burdened public schools.

Jones, the sheriff's spokesman, said Johnson welcomes Hispanic people. "He has issues with anybody that violates the law, period," Jones said.

County Commissioner Tim Sutton called the recent protests the work of outsiders who have ideological issues with immigration enforcement.

"We're the big cowboys in this, and a lot of people are upset about it," said Sutton, who supports Johnson's efforts. "They think, if we can shoot Alamance County down, we can take this thing down at lower levels."

Local opposition

It has been harder to shrug off a local citizens group, called Fairness Alamance, whose members were not involved in the protests but have attended virtually every county commissioners meeting since August.

They were there in February, when Johnson tried to blunt criticism that he was targeting Hispanics for traffic stops by reporting that his officers had pulled over only 494 Hispanic drivers from 2004 to 2008.

Laura Roselle, an Elon University professor and Fairness Alamance member, did her own research in the state court system and discovered that the number of citations alone during that period was 1,344. The number of actual stops was probably higher.

Johnson acknowledged the error at a commissioners meeting earlier this month, blaming it on computer problems. He said all traffic stops were under-reported, regardless of race or ethnicity.

Johnson also vowed not to back down on immigration enforcement. "As long as I'm sheriff," he told the board, "we will enforce the law, no questions asked."

http://www.thesunnews.com/news/local/story/866439.html

The tensions stem from Johnson's decision to participate in a federal program known as 287(g), named for the provision of federal law that created it. He is one of nearly 70 sheriffs and police chiefs around the country, eight in North Carolina, who have joined the program. It allows local officers to check the immigration status of all those who come through the jail and to begin deportation proceedings.

Folks these 70 sheriffs and police chiefs are all we have in our country protecting us!

Remember we have 3,000 districts in our nation, why can't "We the People" have 3,000 trained sheriffs.

Exactly, vmonkey56.

at the Raleigh News and Observer apparently has gone on for so long insulting too many readers in the Raleigh readership area, so McClatchy Media is going to put her "on the road" for a while in the rest of its media empire and give Raleigh a rest. Myrtle Beach is nice and sunny this time of year, I hope she's getting rid of her bikini lines.

It has been harder to shrug off a local citizens group, called Fairness Alamance, whose members were not involved in the protests but have attended virtually every county commissioners meeting since August.

They were there in February, when Johnson tried to blunt criticism that he was targeting Hispanics for traffic stops by reporting that his officers had pulled over only 494 Hispanic drivers from 2004 to 2008.

Laura Roselle, an Elon University professor and Fairness Alamance member, did her own research in the state court system and discovered that the number of citations alone during that period was 1,344. The number of actual stops was probably higher.

After meeting some of the fine people from Alamance Co. at our counter protest, I happen to know they also attend the commissioners meetings! As usual Kristen Collins is only going to give ONE side of the story, the boo hoo's of the illegals and the OBL's.