In the midst of the fear that has been caused by the recent raids Of the immigration agents in the Charlotte area, police authorities met with a group of Latinos to clarify their positions and their scope in these operations.
The meeting took place on Wednesday, May 28, at the headquarters of the Latin American Coalition, which was attended by Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden, officers from the Mecklenburg County Police Department (CMPD), and representatives from the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy (CCLA).
If a police officer questions you about your status, you can file a formal complaint.
Spanish-speaking officers stressed that the CMPD does not cooperate with thethe immigration arrest operations from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), only in cases of arrest of a dangerous person in which they ask for assistance.
“We never ask a person about their immigration status. If an officer asks you that, you can file a complaint, because it's not part of our policy,” said Officer Stephanie Escobar.
The importance of knowing your rights
For their part, Ruth Santana and Natalie Martes from CCLA, spoke about the rights that immigrants have regardless of immigration status, at home, at work, on the street, while driving, with the police, or with an ICE agent.
They also provided attendees with an "emergency planning guide" to prepare for detention or deportation.
At the end of the community meeting, attendees had the opportunity to ask questions to invited officials and experts.
Prepare yourself with reliable information and useful resources with Our Immigration Guide
ICE is outlawing detainers.
During the meeting the sheriff spoke about the Misconception that Mecklenburg County is a “sanctuary” of undocumented immigrants, and focused his presentation on disagreements with ICE regarding “detentions” or “detainers” and state law HB 10.
This law, which went into effect on December 1, requires sheriffs to cooperate with the agency when honoring detainers, a 48-hour stay in the local jail of undocumented detainees.
“When I took office as sheriff, I didn't honor detainers that weren't signed by a judicial officer, so the detainer isn't a legal document, but it is an official ICE document,” McFadden emphasized.
Through an interpreter, the sheriff explained the complex judicial process for releasing a person through a state judge's order. However, ICE expects detainees to be handed over to the agency within 48 hours.
“ICE is against the law because I can't hand someone over without a legal document,” McFadden emphasized. HB 10 They don't give me approval to hand him over to ICE and those who make the laws in Raleigh realized this shortcoming and that's why they are now proposing another law. HB 318 "They still haven't given me permission to hand over a person to them, the only thing that changes is that I have to call them two hours before releasing them," the sheriff explained.
No response from ICE on court arrest policy
At least four immigrant arrests were made in April at the Mecklenburg County District Court, which is across the street from the jail and Sheriff's Office.
McFadden was alerted to one of the arrests that occurred on April 23 because the incident occurred inside the courthouse building by three plainclothes ICE agents.
It is not the first time that the sheriff has had disagreements with ICE , when both agencies have expressed frustration over a lack of communication, such as the incident that occurred in March following the arrest of 24 undocumented immigrants.
The sheriff emphasized that his office also has a responsibility to ensure that any enforcement action at the courthouse is "conducted in a safe, transparent, and coordinated manner."
In order to address any future court arrests, McFadden said he is working on a formal policy, and for this he sent a letter to ICE executives in Atlanta, to which he has not yet received a response.
“Because of the incidents that occurred at the Mecklenburg courthouse, I wrote ICE a letter asking them to cooperate with us, to not have these confrontations in public so that no one is hurt,” McFadden told Enlace Latino NC.
Although ICE has the right to enter the courthouse, McFadden asks that as a place that should be secure, everyone should operate in a safe manner.
“I wrote to officials in Atlanta about the procedures that should be in place to make the courthouse safe for everyone in the courthouse, but all ICE officials have told me is that they should forward it to their supervisors and let them know what we're requesting, but we haven't heard anything from them yet,” the sheriff said.
McFadden showed us the email sent to ICE, which is dated May 16.
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