287(g), Secure Communities give N.C. law enforcement immigration information

Arizona is facing widespread criticism for adopting the harshest immigration law in the country, but it’s not the only state cracking down on undocumented immigrants.

The expansion of two immigration enforcement programs that target undocumented criminals in North Carolina also faces contention across the board.

The programs — 287(g) and Secure Communities — give local law enforcement officers access to search federal databases to check a criminal’s immigration status. Before these programs, access was limited to the federal government.

But the implementation of these programs in many counties in the state has failed to accomplish its goal of targeting the dangerous criminals, according to a study by UNC professor Mai Thi Nguyen and graduate research associate Hannah Gill.

Instead it has led to racial profiling, which is a growing problem as the Hispanic population is estimated to have increased significantly in the past few years.

 Those immigrants are now also losing trust in local law enforcement, causing them to report fewer crimes and possibly leaving criminals on the street.

287(g) faces criticism

The 287(g) program is the more controversial of the two because it allows local law enforcement officers to start the deportation process after an arrested individual is found to be undocumented based on his or her fingerprints.

Cost, human rights violations and inefficiency are just a few of the complaints launched against the 287(g) program.

The study by Nguyen and Gill found that the program cost $5.5 million the first year it was used in Mecklenburg County and $4.8 million in Alamance County.

 Nguyen said immigrant communities become distrustful of local law enforcement officials who have the ability to deport them, making them hesitant to contact the police when they are the victims of crimes.

“They are not sure that local law enforcement is there to protect everyone,” she said.

 The report also determined that the program does not chiefly target violent crime as it is intended to.

 According to the report, 86.7 percent of those booked in studied counties had committed misdemeanors while 13.3 percent had committed felonies.

“It is unclear whether this is making the communities safer,” Nguyen said.

Katy Parker, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union, said that instances of racial profiling related to the 287(g) program are becoming prevalent. The ACLU has heard many complaints of officers setting up license checkpoints near places where Hispanic communities congregate, such as churches and construction work sites.

Barbara Gonzalez, southern regional communication director for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the program is needed to help ICE recognize criminals who may lie or use an alias.

Officers have to complete a four- week training program before they can participate in the program and actively detain and deport illegal immigrants, Gonzalez said.

“Local police hardly have enough training or expertise to enforce very complex immigration law,” said Dani Martinez-Moore, a coordinator for the N.C. Justice Center.

Henderson, Wake, Gaston, Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Guilford and Alamance counties and Durham all have the program.

The Orange County Board of Commissioners rejected the 287(g) program following the arrest of Carrboro resident Sima Fallahi. Fallahi was arrested by police after her name showed up during a routine background check.

“I don’t think that local government should be charged with enforcing federal policy,” said Barry Jacobs, a member of the board.

Henderson County Sheriff Rick Davis said 287(g) is necessary to eliminate criminal elements from society.

Davis said that the federal government reimburses his office for illegal immigrants that they detain and provides him with extra officers to help with its implementation.

Secure Communities grows

Secure Communities, which gives local law enforcement access to federal databases but does not allow local officers to initiate deportation, has been applauded as a step that makes the state safer.

But like the 287(g) program it has also been criticized for alienating immigrant communities and leading to racial profiling.

Secure Communities was launched by the Department of Homeland Security in 2008. Orange County implemented the program in 2009 after Sheriff Lindy Pendergrass told the County’s Board of Commissioners that all N.C. counties were going to be required to have it by January 2010.

But the Department of Homeland Security could not provide the resources to grow the initiative that quickly, said Keenon James, director of special projects for the N.C. Sheriffs Department. Now the department is aiming to have the program in place nationwide by 2013.

“We’re approaching it with common sense,” Pendergrass said, adding that Orange County sheriff’s deputies don’t take part in racial profiling.

“We go about our daily business — we don’t go out to construction sites to find Hispanics,” Pendergrass said.

Right now, Secure Communities is used in 118 jurisdictions in 16 states.

 

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.