CHARLOTTE — North Carolina’s House Speaker says he will introduce a bill in the next week or two to change how sheriffs are required to cooperate with ICE.
For months, Channel 9 has been reporting on the dispute between Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden and ICE.
ICE says Sheriff McFadden isn’t calling the agency before a suspect is released. Detainers request this notification. Sheriff McFadden says state law doesn’t require him to make the call.
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Speaker Destin Hall says that phone call should be made.
“I think overwhelmingly the people of this state believe that if you’re here illegally and you’re charged with a serious crime in our state, that you have to get—and that it’s common sense for local law enforcement to cooperate with ICE.”
The changes come after Channel 9 spotlighted the arrest of Jose Napoleon Serrano.
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ICE placed a detainer on him but says they were not notified before he was released.
Sheriff McFadden says ICE should have picked him up during the 48-hour hold.
Napoleon Serrano is due in federal court on Friday for a detention hearing.
VIDEO: Sheriff pushes back against ICE with timeline of man’s arrest
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