By Taylor Sisk
Staff Writer
The Chatham County Board of Commissioners voted on Monday to rescind a resolution adopted in January 2009 by the previous board that opposed participation in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 287(g) program. The program provides money to local law-enforcement agencies to help identify illegal immigrants and process them for deportation.Â
The vote was 4-1, with Commissioner Sally Kost in opposition.
The previous resolution stated that the board of commissioners “stands in strong opposition to any local governmental agency contracting with ICE for the purpose of enforcing federal immigration laws.â€
The resolution passed Monday night states that the 2009 resolution “inadvertently caused confusion within our community concerning the status of Chatham County as a ‘sanctuary county’†and that the county “supports the cooperation of local law enforcement with all Federal and State agencies.â€
Board Chair Brian Bock said the previous resolution expressed an opinion on local law enforcement that the current board majority does not share.
“The majority feels that it is important for the sheriff’s office to be able to perform its mission of enforcing laws, including those related to illegal immigration, without pressure to do otherwise from the board of commissioners,†Bock said.
Ilana Dubester, a local Latino community advocate, said on Wednesday that the new resolution was a “double-edged sword. It rescinds a very benign resolution†and, she said, will discourage the reporting of crimes for fear of deportation.
Dubester said that some of the wording of the resolution was similar to language found on the websites of “well-known hate groups at the state and national level,†citing the use of the phrase “sanctuary county.â€
“Public policy based on hate-group philosophy is not good policy,†she said.
— Dubester said that some of the wording of the resolution was similar to language found on the websites of “well-known hate groups at the state and national level,†citing the use of the phrase “sanctuary county.†—
What an absolutely ridiculous thing for Dubester to say. “Sanctuary county” is a benign term that has nothing to do with “hate groups”. I’m sure you could find the words “law”, “immigration”, “government”, “vote”, and many other words on so-called “hate group” websites, but so what? Would this mean that these words are tied to “hate groups”?