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Immigrant rights, the rights of us all

Posted on April 3, 2008 by Staff

By Colin Austin

Fear is on the rise in North Carolina. This was the topic of most concern at El Foro Latino 2008, a statewide gathering of Latino leaders held earlier this month near Asheville. Fear of leaving your home, fear of being separated from family and fear of law-enforcement officers.

Participants at El Foro told of their experiences with detention and checkpoints. Of being afraid to drive across Alamance County. Of refusing to seek police assistance because of not knowing who might be around the corner when you fill out an intake form.

And it’s not just unauthorized immigrants who are afraid. The chilling effect sweeps out to include anyone who looks or talks differently, whether they are a U.S. citizen or not. If you are not carrying the right documentation, you are subject to arrest and detention.

What’s causing this fear? A program being promoted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE). Under the “Immigration Cross-designation” program (also known as 287g), ICE will provide training and resources to local police and sheriff’s departments in exchange for deputizing their officers to enforce immigration law. This means that anyone stopped by local law enforcement can be held for an immigration ID check.

So far, four sheriff’s departments in North Carolina have signed on: Alamance, Cabarrus, Gaston and Mecklenburg counties. And many more want to apply. Understandably, local officials are frustrated by the broken national immigration system, and the resources that the ICE package offers are coveted by cash-strapped law-enforcement departments.

In 2007, a resolution was adopted by the North Carolina Sheriff’s Association that urged the state to “take whatever steps are necessary to address the invasion of illegal aliens into North Carolina.” The resolution connects the lack of border control with terrorists, Mexican drug cartels and those who “commit crimes against North Carolina citizens.”

How do we begin to reduce the tension and move from global anxieties to community well-being? To start, local governments can take a stand against becoming immigration police. I was never prouder of my county than when presenters at El Foro stated that the Orange County Board of Commissioners had issued a resolution opposing the ICE program. It meant something that there was a place in North Carolina that said “no.”

The resolution reads in part: “We commit not to enter into a memorandum of agreement with Homeland Security to enforce immigration laws or take any other action that might result in racial profiling or create a climate of fear and hostility for any community in the County.”

Thank you for that, Orange County, on behalf of myself and many others around the state who are watching. North Carolinians should follow this issue closely and understand that they can choose to stand up for their own rights and the rights of each of their neighbors.

Colin Austin is a member of the Orange County Human Relations Commission.

2 thoughts on “Immigrant rights, the rights of us all”

  1. marcus duncan says:
    April 3, 2008 at 7:47 am

    Outstanding piece. If we’re not careful, we will soon not just be asking Latino residents for their proof of residence, but also issuing “special” IDs to those Americans that live in high-crime areas. Maybe we’ll call them “passbooks.”

  2. Sam says:
    April 4, 2008 at 8:23 am

    Surely there is nothing wrong with enforcing the law? If a person is illegal, then they are illegal and breaking the way. People shouldn’t be allowed to pick and chose which laws they would like to break. I am a legal immigrant living in Carrboro.Why should I have bothered to go through all the money and time it takes?

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