Mecklenburg sheriff  ‘not surprised’ by ICE detainer bill

IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT

North Carolina lawmakers passed House Bill 10, which requires sheriffs to comply with Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer requests for people in county custody.

Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden slammed a bill that will require sheriffs across North Carolina to honor detainer requests from federal immigration officials.

McFadden criticized House Bill 10, which mandates sheriffs in all 100 counties to hold undocumented people upon request by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Republican-backed $463 million bill also bundles finances for private school vouchers, Medicaid, public schools and community college enrollment in addition money for children with disabilities. The bill now goes to Gov. Roy Cooper, who has vetoed previous versions of the bill, for his consideration.

“I’m frustrated by the outcome of House Bill 10, but I’m not surprised,” McFadden said in a statement. “This legislation is merely a political move, a slap in the face to me and other local sheriffs who continue to follow existing laws. But I must say, the Republican legislators are clever, putting together a bill that would be more appealing for citizens and lawmakers who might be sitting on the fence.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Danny Earl Britt Jr. (R-Robeson) said the bill will make communities safer by allowing federal authorities to detain undocumented criminal suspects for deportation.

“The Biden-Harris open border agenda has caused unrest and fear across the country,” he said in a statement. “ICE is here to help keep our communities safe and we should be working with them on that mission, not obstructing their efforts. Most of our sheriffs are already taking the necessary steps, but the holdouts need the legislative push and that’s exactly what this policy does."

Reggie Shuford, executive director of the NC Justice Center, criticized the bill as benefiting affluent North Carolinians while ignoring the working class and poor.

“This proposal puts the interests of the wealthy few above the pressing needs of working parents, Black and Brown folks, people with low incomes, and our immigrant neighbors,” he said. “Instead of building a state where every family and community is well-resourced and thriving, this budget would hurt everyday North Carolinians working hard to pay their bills and build a better future.”

Critics of HB10’s ICE requirement contend the bill is redundant and represents overreach by forcing local authorities to participate in the voluntary federal 287(g) program. North Carolina law already mandates all sheriffs make inquire and notify federal officials regarding undocumented immigrants, which sheriffs in the state’s more urban counties insist make another statute unnecessary.

Under HB 10, sheriffs are required to present undocumented detainee to a state magistrate with a federal detainer and administrative warrant to have a state order issued directing the detainee to be held for 48 hours while ICE verifies their immigration status. McFadden contends ICE should utilize federal rules to remand undocumented people without adding extra bureaucracy on sheriffs to extend custody beyond when they usually would be released.

The bill doesn’t fund the local initiative, including the two-day hold that McFadden said would cost Mecklenburg County $181 per day to house each detainee.

“This new version of House Bill 10 is like buying a Maserati with a broken radio,” McFadden said. “You’ll buy the car because it’s a Maserati and overlook the broken radio,” McFadden said. “A bill that was once 2 or 3 pages is now 20 pages, containing copious amounts of provisions that simply sweeten the deal.”

Sheriffs in most of the state’s urban counties – include McFadden – believe HB10 cuts into their authority and subverts the will of voters. The eight most populous counties have Black sheriffs.

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