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The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office is awaiting word from Immigration Customs & Enforcement on what to do with an illegal immigrant in the county jail.
Beaufort County Sheriff Alan Jordan says a new law led to the discovery that 29 year-old Santos Llarios is illegal. He's behind bars for failing to show up for court on a 2003 sex crime. He's one of 1,000 illegal immigrants in North Carolina Jails.
The new law allows law enforcement officials in North Carolina to ask those they have in custody for a felony or DWI, or arrest on those charges, to show proof they're here legally.
That law is just one of the ways officials are trying to address illegal immigration. Deportation is another. It's the job of Immigration Customs and Enforcement to look for immigration violators. North Carolina is part of the enforcement region with South Carolina and Georgia. Last year in those three states, nearly 10,000 people were deported for immigration violations. That figure was about 5,000 in 2006 and 4,000 in 2005. The last year federal statistics are available is 2006. They show 195,000 illegal immigrants were removed from the country.
Immigration Customs & Enforcement also deals with worksite violations. It is against the law to employ someone who is illegal. In 2006 there were 127 convictions for such violations across the country. That's a 46-percent increase from the previous year.
Some people believe giving amnesty to illegal immigrants, who are not criminals, would help solve the illegal immigration issue. Advocates say it would benefit hard-working people and the United States.
Third District Republican Congressman Walter Jones believes solving the issue of illegal immigration starts with securing the border with Mexico. That's why he supports building a 700 mile fence. Jones says, "This to me has nothing to do with whether you're Spanish, or you're Irish or you're German. There is a law in this land and for America to remain strong as a nation, I think you have to have order to how you permit people to come into this country."
Once that happens, then Jones says the debate can really begin to find a realistic solution to the 12 million people in the United States illegally.
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