Deportation central;

Copyright 2008 The News and Observer
The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina)
June 14, 2008 Saturday Final Edition
EDITORIAL/OPINION; Pg. A20
598 words
North Carolina sheriffs lead the way in a campaign to deport illegal immigrants. How far is the state willing to go?
When a wave of illegal immigration flowed across the nation's southwestern border, North Carolina, with its expanding meat industry and booming construction, was a primary destination. Now we're becoming a leader in deporting Hispanic immigrants.
In states such as Arizona, the push against illegal immigration comes largely from state laws limiting benefits and targeting employers. Here, immigration policy is in the sheriffs' hands.
By July, North Carolina will have seven counties, including Wake, where specially trained sheriff's department employees will be able to start deportation proceedings against immigrants accused or convicted of crimes. We'll have more counties qualified for the federal 287 (g) program than any other state.
The sheriffs say they're responding to pressure for an immigration solution, especially now that Congress has, sadly, failed to act. Sheriffs particularly cite high rates of drunken driving among Hispanic immigrants and the tragic fatalities those drivers have caused.
Those concerns are completely understandable. Illegal immigrants convicted of drunken driving and other serious crimes should be prime candidates for deportation. Too many motor vehicle-law offenders -- citizens and noncitizens alike -- have been released from jail to wreak havoc again and again.
Yet there's reason to question the sheriffs' aim. Is deporting dangerous people the program's only goal? It's hard to tell, and not just because several of the sheriffs are aiding Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole's re-election campaign, which plays on popular opposition to immigration.
Fact is, the sheriffs are sending mixed messages about a key concern -- whether the lawmen intend to use the county/federal deportation program as a way to pressure all illegal immigrants to leave.
Last year, Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell said, "This program is not intended as a wholesale roundup of illegal aliens." Yet this week the sheriff, who complains that "everything is Spanish" at the DMV and refers to "another drunk Mexican," said, "We're trying to make it a little more inconvenient for them."
In Alamance County, the vast majority of those targeted for deportation last year had been charged only with traffic violations.
In Wake, Sheriff Donnie Harrison seems to dismiss the concern that many of those facing deportation will be charged with driving without a license: "They're the ones that made the mistake," he says, by coming here illegally. That's no assurance that only serious offenders will be processed.
At this point, it's unclear whether simply showing a law officer false ID is enough to get an illegal immigrant started on the deportation road. If it is, advocates of the county/federal program should say so, up-front. That would put a different and troubling spin on the notion that the deportation effort is aimed only at serious criminals.
Last year the legislature gave the N.C. Sheriffs' Association, a private group that Bizzell currently heads, $750,000 to help with expenses related to setting up the deportation program. This year the group is in line for $1 million more. An N&O news story reports that last year's funds were spent with little or no oversight and may not have been spent effectively.
More oversight is promised, and that's essential. Even better, legislators should rethink their funding of a private organization that openly refers to "illegal alien invaders." North Carolina should respond in a measured way to the problems of illegal immigration. The state should not set out to stomp on some of the least powerful people within its borders.
June 14, 2008