A North Carolina sheriff whose jurisdiction is far from any national border tells
Newsmax TV that granting amnesty to millions of illegal aliens already in the United States will have severe ripple effects on communities like his.
Rockingham, N.C. County Sheriff Sam Page told "MidPoint" host Ed Berliner that "what occurs at the border doesn't stay at the border," and that a sweeping amnesty declaration by President Barack Obama will spark more illegal immigration, and more border crises that have consequences far inland.
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In his work with the National Sheriff's Association's Border Security and Immigration Project, Page said he has learned that border policy "permeates and comes into other areas of the country."
"I've talked with sheriffs from different states — from here to Massachusetts and to Florida, and other places — and we're all experiencing the impact," he said.
Page said that an estimated 400,000 illegal immigrants live in North Carolina, and that just in his county, in the past four years, deputies have arrested 15 associates of Mexican drug cartels.
"Those associates were also armed with high-powered rifles and other weapons systems that could be used against citizens within my county or law enforcement if we encountered them," he said.
Citing the apparent
massacre of 43 college students in Mexico by drug runners linked to a Mexican mayor, Page said, "The Mexican drug cartel — you don't want them in your community, but they are here."
Page also commented on a Charlotte, N.C., television news investigation of fraudulent attempts by illegal immigrants to claim they are victims of crimes, and therefore become eligible for so-called "U visas" under a public safety exemption.
Page sounded confident that the system is equipped to weed out bogus applications and cancel the visas for those who obtain them fraudulently.
"I have had some applications for the U visa, but we do scrutinize the U visa," he said, adding, "There is a process, and there is a backup for investigations in case someone is putting out fraudulent information."
He said his larger concern is with the impact of the president bypassing Congress to declare amnesty for millions.
"If you saw 60,000 persons coming from Central America into the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, I would expect you would see another border surge like we saw this summer," said Page.
He said "the message … being pushed down to Central America and Mexico, and other countries in the area, is that if you can make it to the United States within a certain period of time, more than likely you won't be deported."
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