Immigration front and center at Wake sheriff candidates forum with Latino community
Immigration was front and center at a forum for the two candidates vying to be sheriff of Wake County in the 2022 elections.
The topic was the focus of most of the questions directed to Democratic candidate Willie Rowe and Republican Donnie Harrison at the Wednesday night forum, organized by Enlace Latino NC, a Triangle Spanish-language news outlet, and hosted by El Centro Hispano, a Latino advocacy organization.
The forum was held in Spanish with an interpreter translating for the candidates. The questions came in part from a reader survey done by Enlace Latino NC, which emphasized that there are roughly 32,000 registered Latino voters in Wake County.
An immigration policy reversal
Sheriff’s offices can collaborate with federal immigration officials — as Harrison did as sheriff when he participated in the 287(g) program from 2007 to 2018.
But Harrison, who won the Republican primary May 17, publicly reversed his previous stance last month, calling the program obsolete.
The 287(g) program, a formal agreement with the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration Customs and Enforcement, enables local law enforcement officers to enforce federal immigration laws.
Harrison also previously honored detainer requests, which keep people in jail beyond when they would otherwise be released so they can be taken into ICE custody if suspected of being in the United States illegally, without a criminal warrant signed by a judge.
In a July runoff Rowe beat incumbent Sheriff Gerald Baker to become the Democratic candidate. Baker had defeated Harrison in 2018 in a major upset, largely linked to Baker’s opposition to ICE collaboration and Harrison being linked by activists to Trump-era immigration policies.
Harrison’s reversal now aligns the candidates on local immigration enforcement, but their rhetoric Wednesday night differed.
“I think it’s important for me to engage with this community,” Rowe told the audience. “My experience and my leadership skills (will help) build a relationship so that the Hispanic community can relate to law enforcement without the threat of deportation.”
Rowe proposed hiring a Hispanic community liaison, distributing printed material in Spanish and English and holding community outreach events.
Rowe has previously said he believes 287(g) and detainers violate the Fourth Amendment, which protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures, and have made Latino residents fear law enforcement.
Harrison touted his experience.
“Yes, you’ve seen me before; I was sheriff for 16 years,” he said in his opening statement. “And I know what it takes to run the sheriff’s office.”
Harrison explained his reversal from previous practices by saying the Raleigh-Wake City-County Investigation Bureau offers identity verification technology that can prevent releasing jailed people with aliases or outstanding warrants.
“Every person regardless of where they’re from, who they are, will be treated the same,” he said. “I want to make sure that whoever is in my jail will not get out on the street if they’re dangerous criminals.”
Harrison has defended his previous collaboration with ICE, which the Sheriff’s Office has said resulted in thousands of people arrested in Wake County being deported.
“After 9/11, everybody was in a quandary as to what was going on,” Harrison said. “I knew when I became sheriff that I was letting people back out on the streets that were not who they said they were. And a lot of those (were) dangerous criminals.”
Forum’s questions
Forum moderator Walter Gómez, managing editor of Enlace Latino NC, asked if the candidates would declare their opposition to Republican legislation that would force local sheriffs to collaborate with ICE.
Gómez referred to state GOP leaders recently saying such legislation would be a priority if they win a veto-proof majority in the November elections.
Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed the relevant Senate Bill 101 earlier this year.
Harrison declined to comment on the legislation until he could see it.
“We have to obey the laws as they come out, because we are law enforcement people,” he said.
Rowe said politicians with “no experience in law enforcement” should not be determining the duties of the sheriff.
Both candidates pledged to fill significant vacancies in the Sheriff’s Office and fight heightened crime.
Asked by an audience member about hiring more minorities to improve relations with Black and Latino residents, Rowe emphasized diversity training among deputies if elected.
Harrison said the county needs to hire qualified officers and did not refer to community relations.
The candidates also shared their plans for school safety in light of the deadly May school shooting in Uvalde, Texas this year.
“I’m doing my homework now,” said Harrison. “I’ve got a team of people just working with me on training, mental health, everything that I can think of. I’ve been there, I’ve done it.”
Rowe described his approach to school safety.
“I think if we examine the threats that are happening, they don’t originate from any school, they come from outside. ... I think we need to address the threat outside,” Rowe said.
The forum was the first of several forums with Raleigh and Wake candidates being held by El Centro Hispano and Enlace Latino NC, as well as the Latino nonprofit organization El Pueblo, before the November elections.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the number of registered Latino voters in Wake County. There are approximately 32,000 voters.
This story was originally published September 9, 2022 at 11:50 AM.
