After 24 years at the helm of the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office, Terry Johnson lost the November 3 election, putting an end to an administration marked by controversies regarding racial discrimination and police collaboration with ICE.
His successor, Shannon Long, promises to rebuild trust with the Latino community, which for decades voiced concerns about the office’s police and immigration practices.
“I believe one of my first goals will be to regain the trust of the community,” said Long, the sheriff-elect, in an interview with Enlace Latino NC.
Long, an independent candidate, defeated Republican Johnson in the November 3 election by a margin of 3,181 votes. He received 52.41% versus the outgoing official’s 47.59%, who had held the position since 2002.
After learning the results, Johnson publicly congratulated his successor and stated that he respected the decision of the voters.
“Although the outcome was not what I expected, I fully respect the decision of the voters,” he said in a statement. He also highlighted his administration’s accomplishments and thanked the Sheriff’s Office employees for their work over more than two decades.
Enlace Latino NC contacted Johnson to request further comments but received no response before publication.
Two decades of immigration controversies
When Johnson took office as sheriff in 2002, Latinos made up about 7% of Alamance’s population. Today, they account for around 17%, according to U.S. Census data.
In 2007, Alamance joined the 287(g) program, which allows trained local officers to exercise certain immigration functions through agreements with ICE.
Alejandro García has lived in Alamance for more than two decades. He recalls that after joining the 287(g) program, several members of his community faced deportation proceedings.
“Speaking about all those people, especially friends, who are no longer with me—it’s hard for me to talk about all of that,” he told Enlace Latino NC.
The policing practices of Johnson’s administration were also the subject of a federal investigation.
In 2012, the Department of Justice accused the Sheriff’s Office of systematically discriminating against Latino drivers. According to its findings, they were four to ten times more likely to be stopped than non-Latinos in certain comparisons.
The federal government sued Johnson that same year. The sheriff denied the allegations, and in 2015, a judge ruled in his favor, determining that authorities had not demonstrated the alleged pattern of discrimination. Both parties reached a settlement the following year that included changes in policies and police training.
Immigration cooperation continued in the years that followed. In 2025, Johnson ended a contract to house ICE detainees in the county jail, although Alamance still appears in 2026 federal records as a participant in the 287(g) program.
For García, those actions left concerns that persist to this day.
He currently leads Valores, a community organization that conducted nonpartisan civic education activities during the 2026 elections. He explained that they registered more than 300 voters and held more than 4,000 conversations with residents.
For younger residents, he noted, Johnson had been the only sheriff they had ever known. “We’re talking about entire lives,” he said.
History of confrontations with protesters
In November 2019, Xavier Adams, then a graduate student at Duke University, was arrested during a protest in Graham against the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office’s cooperation with ICE.
Adams, who is of Mexican descent, told Enlace Latino NC that an officer singled him out while he was taking part alongside other protesters.
“One of the officers in charge pointed directly at me and said, ‘He has to go,’” he recalled.
According to Adams, he was the only person of color in the group and the only one arrested. He later took part in a lawsuit against several authorities, including officers from the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office. It ended in a $120,000 settlement, without a judicial determination of liability.
“The story was never really about me,” said Adams, who believes his experience reflects broader problems in police treatment of minority communities. “My story, unfortunately, is not unique.”
In October 2020, the Sheriff’s Office faced renewed criticism when officers used pepper spray against participants in a march for racial justice and voting rights in Graham. The operation led to arrests and legal action.
The new sheriff’s promises
Long, who will take office in December, said his proposals include establishing a community liaison team and hiring someone from the Latino community to facilitate communication with residents. He also announced plans to strengthen police training in mental health and de-escalation techniques.
On immigration, he promised that his deputies would not conduct traffic stops for the purpose of identifying undocumented immigrants.
“Are we going to conduct license checks just to target our Latino and Hispanic community? Absolutely not,” he said.
Long also said he does not intend to use the county jail to house ICE detainees through voluntary contracts. Regarding the 287(g) program, he said he has no plans to resume it.
He also voiced support for stronger border enforcement and said he would continue enforcing the law. HB 10 requires local sheriffs to follow certain procedures for cooperation with federal immigration authorities in jails.
The new sheriff will be able to review internal policies and voluntary agreements within his authority. Long acknowledged that he still needs to assess the office’s operations before determining all the changes.
A change that takes time
Johnson’s defeat came amid a broader electoral setback for Republicans in Alamance, where other candidates from the party also lost their races.
The result, therefore, cannot be attributed exclusively to the immigration controversies of his administration.
For Alamance resident García, Long’s victory was a positive surprise, but he believes regaining the Latino community’s trust will take time.
“The biggest factor in all of this is the feeling of fear,” he said. “Perhaps this fear will gradually diminish.”
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