Chatham liberals see no reason to rescind 2009 Ice Resolution

Date: Thu, 19 May 2011 12:58:18 -0400
From: John Graybeal
Subject: Proposed ICE Resolution Serves No Purpose

It was made clear at the Board of Commissioner’s meeting Monday night that the ICE resolution now being proposed serves no purpose.

First, the January 2009 resolution passed by the former Commissioners was primarily for the purpose of stating that Chatham County would not participate in the so-called 287(g) program.  That action did not, as some have claimed, “block” federal law enforcement.  It only stated that Chatham law enforcement would not become deputized to enforce federal immigration law.

Implementation of the Arizona law, which attempted to do just that, has been enjoined for constitutional reasons.  Chairman Bock has said that the 287(g) program is “not feasible” in Chatham County.  No one is now urging that Chatham should participate in the 287(g) program and ICE, itself, now promotes its “Secure Communities Program.”   Accordingly, there is no need for repeal of the  2009 resolution since it is not a barrier to any action now proposed.

Second, rescinding the 2009 resolution is not necessary to rebut any claim that Chatham is a “sanctuary county.”  In September 2010 Chatham was put into ICE’s Secure Communities Program (known as “SCOMM”), which does not require Chatham law enforcement officials to enforce federal immigration law but does require the Sheriff’s office to send to ICE (indirectly through the Justice Department) fingerprints of all persons arrested in Chatham County.  For any arrested person of interest to ICE, it can issue a “detainer” to the Sheriff’s office, which requires him to detain the person 48 hours longer that he otherwise would so that ICE can take custody of that person if it wishes to do so.  All of North Carolina’s counties are in this program and none of them, including Chatham, could be claimed to be “sanctuaries.”

Third, some claim that repeal of the 2009 resolution is necessary to eliminate “confusion.”  But there is none.  As noted, Chatham is not in the 287(g) program (and none claim it should be) but it is in SCOMM.  The situation is very clear.

However, there are many problems with SCOMM and ICE should act promptly to deal with them.  The biggest problem is that contrary to ICE’s early claims, SCOMM does not “prioritize removal of criminal aliens by focusing on the most dangerous and violent offenders.”  Rather, statistics show that only 13% of ICE apprehensions involved persons convicted of the most serious (Level 1) crimes and 46% of them had no criminal records at all.  In Chatham County, of 13 persons put into removal proceedings, only one was a Level 1 felon and five had no criminal records.  ICE needs to revise the program so that it deals only with serious offenders.

This country badly needs a rational immigration policy to deal with the alleged 11-13 million persons who are not citizens and do not have legal status.  Mass apprehension and deportation are
economically and morally unthinkable.  This country and this county benefit from enormous economic, social and cultural contributions made by the immigrant population.  Yet their status frequently forces them into subservient economic and social status, which is demeaning and curtails their contribution.  A program leading toward citizenship should take priority over the ones better known to ICE such as 287(g) and SCOMM.