Wilmjax News

RALEIGH — North Carolina’s community college system said Tuesday it will no longer admit illegal immigrants into degree programs, following the advice of the state Attorney General’s Office. 

Last year, the system said it would enroll illegal immigrants who are 18 years old and high school graduates at all of its 58 campuses. While the change was supported by Gov. Mike Easley, it provoked heavy criticism - especially from the leading candidates running to replace the outgoing governor.

 The system later asked North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper for guidance on whether the admissions policy was legal under federal law.

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Outgoing Sheriff Jim Pendergraph lashed out Friday at county leaders who have proposed stripping the sheriff of responsibility for the jails.

“My telephone on my desk has had the same number for 13 years,” Pendergraph said at a news conference, “and as of this minute, no one from the county manager’s office or the board of commissioners has phoned to inform me that this issue was under discussion. This is totally disrespectful to me and my dedicated staff, and I am furious about it.”

Pendergraph called the proposal to hire a jail administrator “hare-brained” and said it appeared to be a “political power grab to remove the voters from the process of electing someone to operate this large organization.”

“In essence they are saying the voters are too stupid to elect the right person in the future.”

Parks Helms, a Democrat and vice chairman of the Mecklenburg commissioners, suggested the change Thursday, and commissioners asked staff to explore it. Helms said the idea is to ensure the jails are run efficiently and by a qualified professional.

The proposal has since sparked e-mails and conversations among activists from both parties questioning Helms’ motivation and wondering who the Democratic Party would recommend as Pendergraph’s successor. Some Democratic activists, particularly Latinos, oppose a controversial program championed by Pendergraph — and supported by his pick for successor — that identifies illegal immigrants at the jail and turns them over to federal authorities for deportation.

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Raleigh — Wake County plans to launch its own crackdown on illegal immigration. Sheriff Donnie Harrison said Wednesday he is working out plans to have deputies start policing immigration issues.

Harrison is among a growing group of North Carolina sheriffs getting into the business of enforcing federal Immigration laws. They are part of a partnership that gives local authorities access to an immigration database.

State troopers said an accident on Interstate 40 in July is an example of a tragic pattern playing out on North Carolina’s roadways and involving illegal immigrants.

The man charged in the fatal accident turned out to be an illegal immigrant driving drunk. At the time of his arrest, Michael Delatorre had a fake ID and had already been deported twice in the past three years.

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CAROLINA BEACH — Crimes committed by illegal immigrants in North Carolina are a concern for law enforcement agencies all around the state, and on Tuesday that issue was discussed in Carolina Beach. 

Sheriffs from all over North Carolina as well as officials from the immigration and customs enforcement attended a conference on Tuesday at the Courtyard Marriott in Carolina Beach.

The group met to discuss new programs that would outline how to handle illegal immigrants that commit crimes in the state.

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Carolina Beach | U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., and many of the state sheriffs attending the N.C. Sheriffs’ Association’s fall meeting in Carolina Beach see a proposal to increase cooperation between federal immigration officials and local law enforcement as a way to boost safety and security.

“Where the rubber hits the road, we are going to make a difference,” said Steve Bizzell, Johnston County sheriff and association president.

But others see it as a dangerous precedent that could easily mushroom into something much more sinister.

“It undermines the very principles of community policing and really creates a hostile environment, not just against illegal immigrants but against people who look like one,” said Jennifer Rudinger, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina.

Dole, the sheriffs and immigration officials talked Tuesday about ways of developing new partnerships and relationships to help weed out illegal immigrants among the state’s criminal population.

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HENDERSONVILLE — Buncombe and Henderson County sheriffs announced Wednesday their plan to become a national model and regional hub for a program that would give local law enforcement officers power to enforce immigration policy at county jails.

The N.C. Sheriff’s Association said this week it would partner with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to help train local detention officers. The plan would allow deportation of illegal immigrants charged with crimes to begin on the local level.

The program in both counties should be rolled out within a year with progress made at the 90- and 180-day marks, said Henderson County Sheriff Rick Davis at a press conference.

North Carolina, which will spend $750,000, is the first state to work with the federal government on starting statewide implementation of the program also known at 287(g).

“Nobody can argue with the deportation of a criminal,” said Davis, who pointed out that there are an estimated 400,000 illegal immigrants living in North Carolina.

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The Iredell County Sheriff’s Office showed off $160,000 in drug money Friday.

The money was seized during a traffic stop on I-77 near mile marker 58.

The money was found in a hidden compartment in a ‘98 Audi.

Two people were arrested.

The case has been turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

They have seized nearly a million dollars this year in  money.

Article here.

Raleigh, NC — A former examiner for the state Division of Motor Vehicles has sued under the state’s whistleblower act, saying he was fired because he tried to prevent drivers’ licenses being issued to people who may be here illegally or who would have driving privileges after their visas expired.

Jeffrey M. Brown, 34, of Jones County said the DMV made up reasons to fire him in early April. He had worked for the agency for less than a year. The state’s whistleblower act prevents state employees from reporting wrongdoing that occurs at work.

The lawsuit says DMV officials said he had unnecessarily detained a man because Brown feared the man was in the US.illegally. Another reason given by DMV officials, the lawsuit said, was that Brown made inappropriate remarks about someone of Middle Eastern descent.

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SALISBURY, N.C. — The murder trial of an illegal immigrant accused of driving drunk and causing a wreck that killed a pregnant woman in Landis is already well underway.

Opening statements began early Tuesday after all 12 jurors for the trial were chosen on Monday. The prosecution is currently presenting its case.

Rigo Verto Guillen-Martinez faces several charges stemming from the February 6 crash that killed Leeanna Newman. Authorities say he was trying to elude a Kannapolis police officer when he hit Newman’s car head-on at a high rate of speed.

Newman and her unborn child died a short time later. Her young daughter survived the accident.

The trial began with video of the crash from a camera mounted inside a police cruiser. Many jurors leaned forward to get a better look, and some held their hands over their mouths in disbelief.

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(09/18/07 –DURHAM) - A Durham city councilman is under fire for what some are calling a controversial phone call. Thomas Stith recorded an automated message last week criticizing the City’s handling of illegal immigrants.

Dozens with Durham’s El Centro Hispanic community group marched into Monday night’s meeting unnerved and concerned they’re being targeted.

“While he may not be targeting Latinos directly by default we are the largest group of immigrants in this area,” said Alba Onofrio, El Centro executive.

Onforio said it was an unexpected crowd provoked by an uninviting message.

“Did you know that Durham is a sanctuary city — a city where illegal immigrants commit crimes without fear of being deported,” the message asked.

It was recorded by Stith last week, urging residents to attend a meeting about Resolution 90-46. It states no city officer or employee may ask the immigration status of any person.

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RALEIGH — Nearly all of the 25 illegal immigrants with ties to Smithfield Packing Co. who were arrested last month on suspicion of identity theft remain in federal custody awaiting indictments.

Attracta Kelly, an immigration lawyer with the independent N.C. Justice Center, said the suspects would normally be free while their cases are pending. Most face a maximum two-year prison sentence.

Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested the suspects Aug. 22 during raids in Cumberland, Bladen, Hoke and Robeson counties. They were current or former employees of Smithfield, the Bladen County pork producer.

“In addition to them being criminally charged, they also have immigration problems,” Kelly said. “Immigration has a detainer on them. If their public defenders got them out on bond, Immigration would arrest them that very day.”

Kelly said if that happened, the suspects likely would be detained somewhere else farther away from Raleigh and have limited access to their public defenders.

As a result, 23 of the 25 suspects have waived their right to a detention hearing, in which they could have asked to be released pending trial. Two suspects, both women, were allowed free to receive medical attention. One is pregnant.

Of the suspects, 11 are men and 14 are women. Twenty-two are from Mexico, two are from Guatemala and one is from Honduras.

In addition to the 25 facing criminal charges, four immigrants were detained and are being deported.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Authorities say phony documents are being used to scam illegal immigrants in the Charlotte area.

“It’s fraud, it’s stealing, it’s lying and cheating,” said local immigration attorney Alan Gordon about papers claiming to make illegal immigrants members of a Native American tribe in Omaha, Neb., for a fee of several hundred dollars.

Immigration officials say the papers are useless and can not keep illegal immigrants from being deported. They said it’s difficult to determine how many illegal immigrants in the Carolinas have lost money in the scam because most are afraid to come forward due to their immigration status.

Gordon said the scam is just a small part of a bigger problem.

“Immigration is still broken; Congress hasn’t fixed it,” he said.

Article here.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — More than 100 new North Carolina inmates face deportation under a program launched in July that checks the immigration status of those entering the prison system.

State prison officials say 125 new inmates have been served with deportation detainers.

Secretary of Correction Theodis Beck says the state is now immediately steering possible illegal immigrants entering the system to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. The secretary said ICE agents are now physically present at the state’s four largest admission centers a few days each week and visit smaller centers if necessary.

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A higher percentage of Carolinians than ever opposes efforts to allow illegal immigrants to stay in the United States and work their way toward citizenship, a Charlotte Observer/WCNC News Carolinas Poll shows.

The 2007 Carolinas Poll — which interviewed more than 1,000 people, most in the Charlotte region — asked people whether they support or oppose a proposal to allow illegal immigrants to stay as guest workers and have a chance at citizenship.

Fifty-three percent said they oppose it, and 36 percent support it. The remaining 11 percent said they weren’t sure or refused to answer.

The divide is considerably wider than it’s been in the last two Carolinas Polls. Asked a simpler question — Do you support or oppose a plan to allow illegal immigrants to stay? — 46 percent opposed it in 2005, and 40 percent supported it. Last year, the gap was even closer, with 45 percent opposing and 43 percent in support.

One difference is that the proposal, more abstract in previous years, gained focus in 2007 as the U.S. Senate prepared to vote on a comprehensive immigration reform bill.

The bill, which died on the Senate floor in June, would have established a path to citizenship for an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants and a guest worker system. But it also would have ushered in tougher border control measures and a crackdown on employers of illegal immigrants.

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