Gastonia panel told using cops to stem illegal immigration a stopgap

GASTONIA, N.C. A federal effort to enlist local law enforcement officers to help identify and deport criminal illegal immigrants is a stopgap measure.

A congressional panel that included North Carolina Republican Representatives Virginia Foxx, Patrick McHenry and Sue Myrick met today in Gastonia.

The Indiana Republican who is chairman of the subcommittee of the House Committee on Government Reform also attended the hearing at Myrick’s Gastonia office.

Mecklenburg County Sheriff Jim Pendergraph told the four House members about how local law officers can be used to combat illegal immigration. He says the Congress has let Americans us down by failing to rein in illegal immigration for decades.

The sheriff is working with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A dozen deputies were trained to screen the immigration status of people arrested in and around Charlotte.

Pendergraph says since screening began in May, his department has found that most of the immigrants who pass through his jail are here illegally.

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Gastonia panel told using cops to stem illegal immigration a stopgap
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