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Access North Georgia and other sources
Forsyth Sheriff applies to ICE for immigration enforcement

CUMMING – Forsyth County Sheriff Ted Paxton announced Tuesday that he has applied to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to begin enforcement of immigration statutes.

That means Forsyth County deputies will soon be trained to perform immigration-related duties of suspected illegal aliens who are arrested and brought into the Forsyth County jail.

“The time has come where the Sheriff’s Office has got to be more proactive in addressing the issue of crimes being committed in our county by illegal aliens,” Sheriff Paxton said. “The Immigration and Nationality Act give us the authority to do just that,” he added.

Paxton added, “While immigration enforcement is primarily a federal issue, when illegal aliens commit crimes in our county then the issue becomes local and calls for swift, local response on our part. That is what is provided for in Section 287(g).”

Selected deputies will be trained by ICE and given the resources to determine if someone brought into the Forsyth County jail is in the country illegally. If the person is in the country illegally, the deputies will initiate the paperwork to start the deportation process. All of this is done under the supervision of an ICE agent. However, arrestees must serve their sentences before deportation occurs.

The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office joins a handful of other agencies across Georgia, and the nation, who are using the Immigration Act on a local basis.