The U.S. Department of Justice issued a memo calling for the investigation of state and local law enforcement who don’t carry out President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. However, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden said there is no threat of investigation, according to a press release.
The press release said that McFadden is required to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, despite the repeal of the 287(g) program. This program allows certain local laws to impose federal immigration laws. McFadden ended this program in 2019 immediately after entering office.
McFadden said the Mecklenburg County office was already cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement because of House Bill 10, according to the release. This state law requires all state and local officials to comply with voluntary detention requests and notify ICE immediately if an undocumented person is taken into custody.
The release said that the term sanctuary cities “generally refers to policies that define or limit the extent to which local or state governments share information with federal immigration authorities.”
McFadden said that the memo the Department of Justice issued was directed at cities and states with sanctuary policies, and that this is not the case for North Carolina.
“Neither Mecklenburg County nor the state of North Carolina have sanctuary policies,” the press release stated. “While individuals may hold differing opinions on this matter, Sheriff McFadden remains committed to upholding the law.”
According to the Center for Immigration Studies, there are nine counties that have sanctuary-like policies for immigrants in North Carolina: Buncombe County, Chatham County, Durham County, Forsyth County, Guilford County, Mecklenburg County, Orange County, Wake County and Watauga County.
