February has seen stepped up immigration enforcement by federal ICE officials, and that action has been condemned in a letter signed by several North Carolina mayors, including from Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Durham.
Now the only two Latina elected officials in the state have sent a letter to Democratic Governor Roy Cooper asking him to “stand in solidarity with our communities by condemning the sweeping activity” from ICE that has led to more than 200 residents being detained in recent weeks, some with no criminal record.
The letter from Durham City Councilmember Javiera Caballero and Mecklenburg County Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell was sent to the media in a release from Local Progress, a project from the larger organization Popular Democracy. Both Durham and Mecklenburg counties saw sheriffs elected in November who vowed to end a program cooperating with federal immigration authorities that led to immigrants being detained past their release date to allow for ICE to take them into custody. Both elected sheriffs ran against incumbents who pledged to continue the program.
ICE officials said in a press conference earlier this month that the increased enforcement action was a reaction to the new sheriffs ending those programs. But similar tensions arose last spring during a string of ICE raids, even as some sheriffs participated in the detainment program.
Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood has not participated in the program in recent years. Local authorities have said working with all residents allows for safer communities, rather than isolating community members who feel they can’t report crimes to law enforcement for fear of being deported.
The letter sent to Cooper also called on Democratic members of North Carolina’s delegation to the House of Representatives – Alma Adams, GK Butterfield and David Price – along with Republican senators Richard Burr and Thom Tillis “to fully engage in good faith immigration reform negotiations and help put an end to this desperate situation.”
Meanwhile, Adams, Butterfield and Price sent a letter to ICE officials last Thursday to “express our grave concerns over the recent enforcement actions taken” in North Carolina.
The letter said the representatives are “concerned that ICE officers are engaging in racial profiling to apprehend suspected undocumented immigrants, with surges of traffic stops of predominately Hispanic motorists in Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro and Charlotte.”
The representatives asked ICE deputy director Ronald Vitiello four questions in the letter, including how ICE determined where to conduct enforcement actions and how the recent arrests compare with past actions.
Governor Cooper said in response to a request for comment on this story that a larger conversation on immigration reform is needed.
“The bottom line is we need comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level that works to secure our borders without terrorizing communities, and that needs to happen now. People who have committed serious crimes should be arrested regardless of immigration status, but sweeping raids like these can separate innocent families and cause fear in communities that don’t deserve to have that fear.”
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