'Immigration Nation': How Garry McFadden's election as sheriff of Mecklenburg County brought on a war with ICE
Netflix's latest docuseries 'Immigration Nation' gives an eye-opening look into the workings of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, their many controversial actions in the country during Donald Trump's tenure as the president, the families who have been separated at the border by ICE, and other victims of the tough, and often unfair immigration laws of the United States. As part of the series, the filmmakers explore the situation in Mecklenburg County in North Carolina.
The legislation at the center of protests in Mecklenburg County was Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act which authorizes the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, acting through the Assistant Secretary for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to enter into written agreements with a state or any political subdivision of a state to enable qualified personnel to perform certain functions of an immigration officer.
Under the program, sheriff's deputies would run an inmate's information through a federal database to determine if they were in the country illegally. If they were, ICE would be notified and the inmates held until ICE agents could take them into custody and begin deportation proceedings.
After Garry McFadden — a former homicide detective — ran for the Sheriff's office in 2018, one of his key promises for the county with a large immigrant population was that he would repeal 287(g). As someone who served on the force for 30 years, McFadden recognized the ills of 287(g), mainly that it impeded criminal investigations because witnesses and victims would hesitate to come forward for fear of being reported to ICE and therefore be deported.
McFadden was elected as the sheriff in 2018 and so started a long fight between the new sheriff and officers of ICE. As soon as he took office, for his first act, McFadden has sent a letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement halting the county's voluntary participation in the 287(g) program. ICE responded by stepping up arrests locally in an effort to coerce the locals to go to the sheriff and demand that the 287(g) be put back in place — as we saw in 'Immigration Nation'.
Today, McFadden continues to stand by his stance, insisting that officers bring federal warrants. The sheriff said the only way he will keep an illegal immigrant in jail who has met all of his or her release requirements is if ICE gets a federal warrant signed by a judge.
According to data obtained by WBTV, which was provided by ICE, 345 people who had been convicted or charged with crimes were removed from the country through the deportation process during the fiscal year 2018, which runs from October 2017 through September 2018. By comparison, just 64 people who had been charged or convicted of a crime were removed from the country through the deportation process during FY2019, which began in October 2018.
'Immigration Nation' is now available to stream on Netflix.
