CHARLOTTE — House Speaker Destin Hall says changes to HB10 are possible after the war of words heated up between ICE and the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office over the implementation of House Bill 10.
HB10 requires sheriffs to honor ICE detainers. An ICE detainer requests law enforcement agencies notify ICE before a suspect is released. The ICE detainer is in place for 48 hours. Since going into effect, ICE has issued at least 56 detainers to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office, according to a statement earlier this week. However, MCSO has not notified ICE about the release of any of the suspects. A Channel 9 investigation last month found at least 13 people previously subject to a detainer were able to leave the jail after the detainer expired.
In an interview with Channel 9 in December, Sheriff Garry McFadden confirmed to Channel 9 Government Reporter Joe Bruno that he is not calling ICE ahead of their release.
“It’s not part of the new law,” he said.
In a news release last Friday, Sheriff McFadden noted that ICE hasn’t picked up anyone with a detainer on them.
“We don’t know why there haven’t been any ICE pickups. But the law does not require us to notify ICE of a person’s release. ICE should keep up with that,” he said.
It might be part of the law in the future. In an interview with Channel 9, House Speaker Hall says the intent of HB10 was for law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. He says sheriffs have a duty to work with ICE.
“If we need to go back in and beef up the law, then we will do that,” he said. “It’s all garbage. The sheriff and any law enforcement officer’s first duty is to keep the public safe and this is one of the ways that they can keep the public safe is by cooperating with their federal law enforcement partners.”
In response to the sheriff’s statement, ICE criticized MCSO for not notifying the agency of any pending releases.
“Notifying ICE that an individual will be released on a specific date is a fundamental necessity for ICE to respond to an issued detainer so we can transport the individual from the respective law enforcement agency into ICE custody,” spokesperson Lindsay Williams said. “Without notification from the respective agency, ICE has no way of knowing when an individual is going to be released from their custody. Any attempt to ignore or remove this basic step in the transfer of custody to ICE ultimately compromises the safety of our communities.”
Immigration attorney Jamilah Espinosa predicts immigration enforcement will increase dramatically when President-elect Donald Trump resumes office.
She calls HB10 vague and expects it to change.
VIDEO: Long lines reported outside local ICE office
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