Asheville – Rumors abound about whether Buncombe County is a sanctuary county. The term sanctuary means a city, county, or state that limits its cooperation with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as much as possible to protect illegal immigrants that have come into the country. Buncombe county was recently listed as a sanctuary county by The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), an independent, non-partisan, non-profit research organization, who claim to be for pro-immigrant, but low-immigration.
Is It A Law?
Here is where the confusion comes in. A North Carolina Law passed in 2015 states that adoption of sanctuary ordinance is prohibited in North Carolina, “No county may have in effect any policy, ordinance, or procedure that limits or restricts the enforcement of federal immigration laws to less than the full extent permitted by federal law.” The way county officials are circumventing the law is that Buncombe County hasn’t passed an ordinance, so these officials have been able to put in place sanctuary policies which many believe invite more problems for the citizens of the county.
Sheriff Refuses To Honor Federal Detainers
Sheriff Quentin Miller received national attention when he refused to honor ICE detainers, meaning holding suspected illegal immigrants for 48 hours for ICE detention and questioning, stating that “a detainer request is not a valid warrant.” In a press conference Miller said, “The sheriff’s office will continue to comply with all applicable state and federal laws, however we do not make or enforce immigration laws. That is not part of our law enforcement duties. It is vital that members of our immigrant community can call the sheriff’s office without fear when they are in need of assistance from law enforcement.”
While it is technically correct that a detainer in not a warrant, United States Attorney Andrew Murray said, “Here’s the glaring problem: Judicial warrants for immigration violations do not exist. Federal law simply does not provide for them because immigration is a civil and administrative matter, not a criminal one which a federal judge has authority to issue a warrant. Murray continued, “While Congress could theoretically create such warrants, they’ve wisely decided to leave the decision with ICE and not flood the federal courts with demands for judges to review those requests. Until Congress changes the law, a local official complaining that ICE won’t give them a judicial immigration warrant is essentially no different than demanding ICE provide them with a unicorn. They’re both imaginary.”
Innocents Pay The Price
This practice of releasing dangerous criminals, who are already in jail, set up a situation where more than 500 criminal aliens were released in fiscal year 2019 across the state of North Carolina. One of the criminals released in Buncombe County took “Indecent liberties with a minor” on an eleven-year-old girl, for which he was only sentenced 16 to 29 months. The time he had already served was applied and he was released the next day, despite ICE’s detainer request, and without notifying the federal agency. Concerned about Miller’s sanctuary policies, local District Attorney Todd Williams (D), called US Attorney Andrew Murray as soon as Torres was convicted, and Torres was in federal custody within a matter of days.
Is The Sheriff Breaking The Law?
The 2015 law also says, “No county shall do any of the following related to information regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual: “(1) Prohibit law enforcement officials or agencies from gathering such information. (2) Direct law enforcement officials or agencies not to gather such information. (3) Prohibit the communication of such information to federal law enforcement agencies.” This means that prohibiting gathering and withholding information from federal agents is against the 2015 law.
A New Bill To Fix The Situation
A new bill, House Bill 10, has been passed by the NC House and NC Senate which require sheriffs to cooperate with ICE, but still has to go to the governor for signing. Rep. Destin Hall, one of four primary co-sponsors of House Bill 10, said, “This is talking about folks who are here illegally and also who have been charged with a serious crime in our state. And what do we mean with a serious crime? Murder, rape, kidnapping, human trafficking, gang crimes, drug crimes.” The bill would mandate sheriffs and local jails reach out to federal immigration officials if they are unable to determine the legal status of individuals charged with certain crimes. Sheriffs would have to take individuals in front of a state judge, who would order whether they are held for 48 hours, or ICE takes custody, or rescinds the request.