By Hugh Fisher
For the Salisbury Post
CONCORD ó When Cabarrus County Sheriff Brad Riley met with N. C. Sen. Elizabeth Dole on Friday, he had a clear message for potential lawbreakers who might also be illegal aliens.
“The message I have is, we welcome visitors,” Riley said. “But to those who would come here illegally and victimize citizens of our community, we’re going to hunt you down.”
Dole said the program is part of national efforts to secure U.S. borders, but that it would not impact people who don’t break the law.
“We are focused on those who have identified themselves on account of criminal behavior,” she said.
Dole and Riley met to honor the funds that the senator helped secure for training of five Cabarrus County deputy sheriffs under the 287(g) program.
That’s the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement program that allows local law enforcement to start processing of undocumented aliens who identify themselves by committing crimes.
The Cabarrus deputies going through training in Gainesville, Ga., right now will help take the strain off national enforcement efforts.
According to Riley, if a suspect in a crime is found to be an undocumented alien, the trained deputies will be able to begin the ICE process to process that person for eventual deportation.
“We are very fortunate that Senator Dole was able to help get these funds for us,” Riley said.
A shortfall this past summer meant that, although the training program was already scheduled, deputies could not attend.
Sen. Dole helped allocate federal dollars to cover the costs involved in the intensive multi-week program for local law enforcement, which she hopes will serve as a model for other parts of the nation.
“No other state has this level of involvement,” Dole said.
The senator also said she hoped that the new enforcement abilities would help stem the tide of drugs and gang violence associated with illegal immigration.
“I think they (illegal immigrants) are going to start to say, don’t go to North Carolina if you have committing a crime in mind,” she said.
Dole, a Republican, has said she will seek re-election to her Senate seat this November.
Contact Hugh Fisher at 704-797-4245 or hfisher@salisburypost.com.