Democratic sheriffs in the Triangle are expressing concerns for their counties amid President Donald Trump's agenda of mass deportations and a new state law that requires county sheriffs to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Last December, House Bill 10 went into effect after a years-long effort by Republican legislators to mandate all sheriffs to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. The measure's purported goal was to crack down on so-called "sanctuary cities" and promote public safety by removing migrants without legal status accused of crimes.
The new law creates a multi-layered process for jail officials:
- Any person suspected to be without legal status charged with a crime who is processed in a county jail and is issued an ICE detainer, or request, must be taken to before a judge to confirm their identity and seek a judicial warrant finding cause for them to be detained.
- Jails must then hold the person for up to 48 hours so immigration agents can come and take the individual into custody.
- Jails cannot hold them for longer than that, and federal agents must pick them up within that window of time.
Opponents of the bill say the new state and federal orders could potentially harm public safety by reducing community trust between them and immigrant residents and their families. Sheriffs surveyed by 瓜神app say there hasn't been a spike in ICE detainers in their jails this year.
鈥淲e鈥檙e always concerned with any misinterpretations of immigration directives and misunderstandings of HB10 that may cause fear in residents when interacting with the Wake County Sheriff鈥檚 Office because of their federal immigration status," Wake County Sheriff Willie Rowe said in a statement to 瓜神app. "I believe effective public safety depends on collaboration, not fear.鈥�'
Sheriff Rowe said there's been an "increase in misinformation shared online regarding (immigration) raids" and his office wants to discourage residents from sharing unverified information.
Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman also shared the same concern, after an immigration enforcement vehicle was sighted outside of the Wake County Justice Center.
"It would be our hope that Immigration and Customs Enforcement understands that stepping up enforcement at the courthouse would run counter to public safety objectives," Freeman told 瓜神app. "An increase in deportation efforts here would result in people, including needed witnesses and victims, missing court."
Sheriffs distance themselves from ICE
Sheriffs like Clarence Birkhead in Durham County have been vocal about distancing themselves from ICE and from the judges of the court system who end up issuing judicial orders as part of the new law.
Speaking in a Jan. 19 immigrant community forum, Birkhead said "(Deputies) are not going to stop you and ask for your papers. We鈥檙e not going to stop you and ask for your immigration status."
Birkhead said he'll follow the law, but that he won't notify ICE if an issued detainer is about to expire and a person is about to be legally released from jail.
In a statement, Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood said that his office would continue to serve residents regardless of immigration status while acknowledging that "a lot of people are apprehensive."
Like the other Triangle sheriffs, Blackwood opposed House Bill 10, particularly due to concerns of violating the Fourth Amendment by detaining a person for up to 48 hours in addition to their jail time.
Chatham County Sheriff Mike Roberson, also a Democrat, said in a statement that his office has follows all state laws and "assists" with ICE detainers "up and until the point that we receive an order directing the release of the inmate by a magistrate or judge, which we honor."
Roberson emphasized that his office does not hold any inmate past when they are legally required to hold them under state law.
鈥淧ublic trust and cooperation are essential to effective law enforcement," said Roberson. "The Sheriff鈥檚 Office will continue working with community leaders to ensure that everyone feels safe and supported, regardless of immigration status.鈥�
Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers issued a public statement clarifying that Guilford was never a "sanctuary county" and that he will honor detainer requests from ICE if a judge issues a judicial warrant.
"Given that the Sheriff's Office has a written agreement with the U.S. Marshals Service to hold federal prisoners in the Greensboro Jail and that there is a federal courthouse just two blocks away from the Jail, obtaining judicial approval of a detainer should not be difficult for ICE to accomplish, yet ICE routinely refuses to do so," Rogers said in a statement.
What a Republican sheriff says
As for Republican sheriffs like Terry Johnson of Alamance County, the new law should promote community trust from Latino residents, even if they are here without legal status.
"Individuals that have moved out of these countries ... they've left those countries because of safety and their families being endangered, to come to a safer place in America," Johnson said in an interview. "Those individuals that came here for a better life and crossed the border and are not here for to be a criminal element feel the same way that I do. They want to live in a neighborhood that is safe. They don't want have drug dealers around them, they don't want gang members, they don't want cartel members around them."
Johnson claimed that immigrants belonging to gangs and Mexican drug-trafficking organizations have been arrested before in his county and were without legal status. The Alamance County Sheriff's Office has signed several contracts over the years with ICE to house up to 40 migrants in their custody.
House Bill 10 didn't change processes for Alamance County, since Johnson's policy was already to voluntarily obey ICE detainer requests, even if they did not have a judicial warrant.
ICE is seeking more capacity in the Alamance jail to house migrants amid more arrests they've made in North Carolina, according to Johnson. In an , Johnson said costs in his jail have gone up and he doesn't want the county to foot the bill to satisfy the Trump Administration's new demands.
The U.S. Department of Justice wants to investigate and charge any law enforcement agencies that refuse to cooperate. But if sheriffs are complying with House Bill 10, that may ensure this won't happen in North Carolina.
