U.S. Senate candidate Kay Hagan says the federal government should pay for a program that allows sheriff's to check the immigration status of their jail inmates.
Hagan met with the sheriffs of six counties — Durham, Nash, Cumberland, Pitt, Wilson and Hoke — today in Raleigh to talk about 287(g), a federal program that allows sheriffs that have specially trained deputies to access federal databases and deport those in the country illegally, Kristin Collins reports.
Sen. Elizabeth Dole, Hagan's opponent, has strongly supported the program and pushed for more federal funding to expand it.
Hagan said she also supports the program, but she laid out a host of concerns about it. She said it creates a "patchwork" of uneven enforcement, when some counties have it and others don't. She also said it is forcing state and local governments to pay for a federal responsibility.
Ultimately, Hagan said the solution is federal immigration reform that secures the borders and allows employers the workforce they need.
"It's a Band-Aid solution to a problem," Hagan said of the sheriffs' program. "We need an overall immigration policy that works."
Hagan is trying to make inroads among voters concerned about immigration. Those voters overwhelmingly support Dole, according to polls.
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Re: Hagan: Feds should pay for 287(g)
Perhaps it's both.
Anyway, that would be from Kristin Collins' wording. If another reporter wrote an item, I'll note his or her name in the second graf.
— RTB