NC Sheriffs, I.C.E. & HB 370

HB 370 has been introduced in this session of the North Carolina General Assembly and is presently being considered by the State Senate. If passed and signed into law by the Governor, HB 370 would require that every elected North Carolina Sheriff to fully cooperate with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when ICE officials believe that an arrested person has entered the country illegally. The bill would require that Jail Administrators allow ICE Officers to interview any person within the County’s custody upon request for it to be determined if an ICE warrant has been issued for that person. If a warrant has been issued, the Administrator must take that individual before a County Magistrate to seek authorization for that person to be held in jail until ICE officers can take the person into federal custody. If the Sheriff fails or refuses to comply with this directive, the Sheriff can be removed from office. This legislation has drawn opposition from many Sheriffs, legislators, civil rights organizations, lawyers and citizens on the grounds that it is unconstitutional and counter-productive. On this show, we discussed the problems with this proposed legislation with Sheriff Clarence Birkhead of the Durham County Sheriff Department and Ivan Almonte, a Durham Community Activist and partner with Bull City Lawyer.