Catawba County Dole meets with sheriffs to talk of illegal immigration

Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2007

By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer

NEWTON - U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., met with sheriffs from Catawba, Burke, Caldwell and Alexander counties Tuesday to talk about how to identify illegal immigrants committing crimes in the Western Piedmont.

Dole is working with N.C. law enforcement agencies to establish the 287(g) federal program in their areas, which would allow the sheriff's offices to determine status of illegal immigrants and process those charged with crimes.

Catawba, Burke, Caldwell and Alexander counties, the sheriffs said, often see the same immigrants breaking laws across county lines but must travel to Charlotte to determine whether they are in the country legally.

"They simply don't have the money (to do this alone)," Dole said. "They have had many frustrating problems because they just haven't had the tools."

Money from the federal program, Dole said, would allow the four counties share a database housed in Catawba County.

"It's a lot easier for me to drive to Catawba or Caldwell or Burke than to Charlotte to have someone verified," said Alexander County Sheriff Hayden Bentley.

The Tuesday morning meeting kicked off nearly two weeks of conferences between Dole and 40 sheriffs from across the state about identifying illegal immigrants breaking the law.

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