Last week U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detained at least 200 people in enforcement actions around the state. Officials raided a gun manufacturing plant in Sanford and arrested people at traffic stop check points in various cities.
Atlanta field officer director Sean Gallagher oversees ICE’s operations in the Carolinas and in Georgia, and he told journalists at a press conference that the increased enforcement is a direct consequence of county sheriffs’ choice to not cooperate with the agency.
In December, sheriffs in Durham, Mecklenburg, and Wake counties all ended their cooperation with ICE. Host Frank Stasio talks about this “new normal” with Tina Vasquez, a senior reporter on immigration for Rewire.News.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this post incorrectly described the traffic stops as "random."