WASHINGTON—Border states aren’t the only ones dealing with crimes arising from illegal immigration.
A panel of sheriffs representing counties in Iowa, Arizona, North Carolina and Maryland assembled Wednesday in Washington to ask Congress for help combating what some called terrorism in our backyard. Issues ranged from Sinaloa Cartel members with drugs and weapons possession in Alamance County, N. C. to increased gang activity in Sioux County.
Sheriffs Tracy Carter of Lee County, N.C. (left) and Terry Johnson of Alamance County, N.C. (right) said ICE programs help identify criminal aliens in their communities. (Chelsea Wallis / Medill)
Sheriffs from Iowa and North Carolina said the agricultural business in their states attracts a number of illegal workers.
The panel supported programs such as Secure Communities and 287(g). Both programs allow ICE to work with local authorities to identify illegal immigrants.
The legislation sparked controversy, with fears that some illegal immigrant communities would be afraid to report crimes for fear of deportation.
Businesses in Sioux County, Iowa became upset because employees were deported or became fearful of deportation and left, Altena said.
“About 200 people came to our board of supervisors meeting to put pressure on them, saying the sheriff, the sheriff’s office and the county attorney are racially profiling, were racist,” an accusation that Altena found personally upsetting.
In September, ICE deported 2,900 criminal aliens in a seven-day, national campaign.
“My deputies go out every day,” said Chief Deputy Steve Henry of Pinal County, Ariz.,
“It’s like sending them to Iraq or Afghanistan. They have to wear heavy body armor, they have to wear helmets, they have to wear night vision.”
Secure Communities is an excellent program, said Sheriff Sam Page of Pakingham, N.C., helping them identify who they have in custody and who they are releasing into the community.
But Henry believes the relationship between ICE and local enforcement could be streamlined. Officers in Arizona work closely with ICE, but the regulations on top of investigations are time consuming and difficult to use.
The panel agreed more funding would help local counties deal with crime associated with illegal immigrant communities.
We are a nation of immigrants, said Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa. “Often it’s used to guilt us into walking away from the rules of law.”