Recently, Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson told a General Assembly committee on immigration that his beloved 287(g) program - aimed at deporting immigrants - only applies to criminals. If that's true, then most of us are probably criminals.
Two UNC reports, one in 2009 and one in 2010, showed that 82 percent of the criminals ensnared by Johnson's 287(g) program were arrested for misdemeanors and that the overwhelming majority were minor traffic violations. One report suggested that Hispanics were targeted for traffic violations in Alamance County; the other concluded that officers in 287(g) counties seemed to be using traffic infractions as a pretense for determining the immigration status of Hispanic-appearing drivers. Of course, this is the same sheriff's office that arrested a Latina mother on I-85 for driving with expired tags and then left her children on the side of the road for eight hours.
Now, both Johnson's office and Alamance County are being sued by the U.S. Department of Justice for discriminatory policing and unconstitutional searches and seizures. Johnson's lead is not one the state should follow. Rather, we need to look at the human side of this issue and the true cost of these so-called tough policies.
