Immigrants not targeted, sheriff tells advocates

gslade@highlandsnews.com

The sheriff's office does not target Latinos with traffic stops and checkpoints, Macon County Sheriff Robbie Holland told the board of the International Friendship Center in Highlands last Thursday, Sept. 4.

"I understand people have concerns of how we conduct checkpoints and arrests, specifically in the Latino community," Holland said.

He said he initiated the meeting following a conversation with IFC Executive Director Jill Montana.

In addition to IFC board members, County Commissioner Brian McClellan also attended the meeting.

Montana reported to the board during the meeting that 230 people had sought IFC services this year between July 3 and Sept. 4, and approximately 42 percent of those had requested legal services. Many involved traffic violations.

The Macon County Sheriff's Office has been involved in 68 checkpoints in the first eight months of this year. In 2007, 28 checkpoints were conducted.

Holland said if a driver is pulled over or passes through a checkpoint and does not have a license, he must prove his identity, regardless of his ethnicity.

Holland said a deputy is allowed discretion as to whether a driver's address has been adequately confirmed. If so, the driver is issued a citation and released. If not, the driver will be arrested to make sure he appears in court to pay the fine. This helps to prevent someone from giving a fake name and address, skipping a court date and having a warrant issued in the wrong name, Holland said.

Holland said hundreds of warrants list the same address, showing a need for verification. He also said it is not uncommon to have multiple warrants in different names, all for the same person.

On the other hand, one driver who was stopped at a checkpoint with no license or proof of address was only given a ticket because deputies on the scene recognized him and knew where he had worked for years, Holland said.

Macon County Sheriff's Department staff attorney Brian Welch said Latinos are not the only ones using false names and addresses. He said if someone is repeatedly stopped for the same violations or has a criminal record, they often give deputies the name of a family member or friend.

In all traffic stops, if a driver is able to prove who he is, he won't be arrested, Holland said.

Holland said of the 1,138 people arrested in Macon County from Jan. 1 through Sept. 1, "Illegal Alien Queries" were done on 189 of them. All but two were found to be in the country illegally. Of these, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued 22 "detainers" for those to be transferred to the government agency.

He said that he did not know how many of the 22 were ultimately deported, but that detainers were issued only in felony cases.

"I can guarantee that no one has been deported for NOL (no license)," Holland said.

County Commissioner Brian McClellan said the federal agency is interested in catching and deporting felons.

In addition to felons, Holland said multiple DWI offenders are also subject to deportation.

"Robbie (Holland) by law has to contact I.N.S.," McClellan said. Because the sheriff's office doesn't have the resources to go after everyone, those found to be in the country illegally are almost always allowed to return to the community, he said.

IFC Board Chairman Hillrie Quin said he went to the courthouse and looked at 100 cases that recently went through the court. He said approximately 87 were for traffic offenses, and of those 85 to 90 percent of the defendants were Latino.

"What that tells me is 85 to 90 percent were violating the law," Holland said.

Holland told the IFC board that the number of checkpoints has risen because the sheriff's department has joined the Governor's Highway Safety program. That program requires public safety departments to meet certain criteria in order to get money back for use in the community. He also said some of the checkpoints are complaint-driven.

He mentioned an incident a couple of years ago in which a roadblock was conducted at 4 p.m. on Buck Creek Road. The checkpoint drew criticism because some believed officers were targeting Latinos attending the free medical clinic, which is held every Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m. just off Buck Creek.

"We didn't realize the clinic was there until approached by one of your board members," Holland said. He said the checkpoint was set up in response to a complaint by a nearby resident.

"We have not been there since, but I can't promise (we) won't be back there," he said.

McClellan said that through the governor's program, the county receives money and equipment, such as cameras for patrol cars, for holding checkpoints and other activities. He said when the issue came before the Macon County Board of Commissioners, that they voted unanimously to take part in the program.

"The checkpoints provide another level of security," McClellan said.

"When we can get equipment without piling on county taxes, we jump on it," he said. "Everyone is equal under the law. If you have a license, you have a license. If you don't, you don't."

Lt. Ken Lane of the sheriff's office said there are more than 700 miles of primary, secondary and linear roads in the county.

He said the Macon County Sheriff's Office is a non-biased agency, and they have never primarily targeted any specific groups.

"You hear rumors in big cities," Lane said.

"You hear them here, too. They're just not true," Holland said.

Welch said the department stepped up its checkpoints around April of 2007. The number of traffic-related arrests have also spiked in the past year.

According to sheriff's office records, deputies conducted 19 checkpoints in 2006, resulting in some of the year's 636 citations and 65 DWI arrests, both up from 2005.

A total of 28 checkpoints were conducted in 2007. The number of citations issued rose by almost 64 percent from the previous year to 997, and the 98 DWI arrests marked an increase of approximately 66 percent.

Figures for the first eight months of this year indicate there have been 68 checkpoints, 841 citations and 97 DWI arrests.

IFC board member Jeff Butler said the increase in checkpoints creates hardships for many people valued in the community who can no longer get valid driver's licenses.

"Could someone in the community vouch for them?" Butler asked. He suggested that employers could verify a person's address.

"That's typically who bonds them out," Holland said, but he added it would be hard to determine reputable sources.

Quin said that in 2006 a social security card became mandatory to get a driver's license. Before then, a person could get a license with only an Independent Taxpayer Identification Number, which is issued regardless of resident status. Fewer and fewer undocumented immigrants have valid licenses because they cannot renew them as they expire.

Lane said the simplest solution would be for one to get a license and drive the rest.

Holland said if a van full of undocumented immigrants is stopped at a checkpoint and the driver has a valid license, deputies have to let them through.

Quin suggested creating a new card that would identify a person as being in the country illegally but allow them to drive legally, similar to drivers identified as "under 21."

"It seems like a practical solution," Quin said.

Holland said the law was made stricter in 2006 because criminals exploited the fact that it was easy to get a North Carolina license. He said at least one of the hijackers responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks had one.

"He got a ticket in Haywood County," Holland said.

Holland said the department has few choices when it comes to how it handles undocumented immigrants.

"I'm only doing what the law requires and allows me to do," Holland said. "If it changed tomorrow and I had to round them all up, I'd do it."

The Macon County Sheriff's Office participates in the Criminal Alien Program as part of the North Carolina Sheriff's Association's Illegal Immigration Project. Immigrants who are arrested for committing a crime are reported to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

Lane said he thinks the checkpoints make the community safer and points to the increase in citations and decrease in wrecks as proof.

Holland said 98 potential DWI accidents have been avoided.

"Giving illegals licenses would be rewarding them for breaking the law," Holland said.

"If the employer really cared, why don't they take them home?" Lane said.

Welch said the situation creates an opportunity for an entrepreneur to step up and serve the need.

Quin mentioned a proposed state-sponsored van program, which would make daily trips between Highlands and Franklin, but he said there had been little interest expressed from business owners thus far. He said though it was not focused specifically toward Latinos, employers may have assumed so because of the IFC connection, and they may be afraid for it to become known that they hire illegal immigrants.

Holland concluded the meeting by inviting anyone with questions or concerns to call or come by his office. His number is (828) 349-2152.

"Contact me if anyone complains about mistreatment," Holland said.