Joe Bruno's Report on Garry McFadden and Ice

WSOC's Joe Bruno has been working endlessly to report on the workings of ICE and the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office. His post:

The dispute between ICE and Sheriff Garry McFadden continues.

Sheriff Garry McFadden has released a statement in response to ICE's arrest of Jose Napoleon-Serrano, which I covered last week.

As I noted in my report, ICE issued a detainer but was not notified by Sheriff McFadden about his release. Sheriff McFadden reiterated to me, as he has in the past, that he is following HB10 as written and that the phone call notification is not required. Screenshots of of the detainer in question and the law are below.

Here is the Sheriff's full statement and a link to my previous story (opens in a new tab/window).

Mecklenburg County Sheriff

“I want to address recent reports regarding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests that are incorrect and misleading. To our local media, I urge you to report fairly and accurately. I am not bending the rules or preventing Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers from doing their job—I am simply following the law. Specifically, I adhere to NCGS 162.62, as revised in House Bill 10, yet the media continues to misrepresent my role as Sheriff to the public.

In the case of Jose Napoleon-Serrano, the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office followed the law by holding him for 48 hours, per a court order.

Here is a breakdown of the events:

January 12th at 5:35 AM - Mr. Serrano was arrested by CMPD. Our deputies determined he was a Honduras national during the intake process.

January 12th at 6:09 AM (35 minutes later) – MCSO notified ICE with no response the entire day.

January 13th at 11:18 AM (more than 24 hours later) - MCSO received the ICE Detainer-Administrative Warrant. A 48-hour hold was signed and issued by a state magistrate.

January 15th at 11:18 AM (exactly 48 hours later) – The court order on Mr. Serrano was lifted but he remained in custody at the MCSO Detention Center on his initial state charges with a $5,000 secured bond.

January 17th at 12:14 PM (more than 48 hours later) - Mr. Serrano’s $5,000 bond was posted for his release. A Mecklenburg County magistrate then issued a signed court order for his release from custody.

In total, Mr. Serrano was held 5 days with NO ICE movement.

As laid out above, MCSO received zero correspondence from ICE after they sent the detainer on January 13th. ICE was aware of Mr. Serrano’s status between January 12th -17th as they are privy to our various tracking systems. 

ICE is more than welcome to pick up the phone – we will always remain transparent about a person’s release, but nowhere in House Bill 10 does it mandate local sheriffs to notify ICE of an individual’s release. 

ICE is also aware that Mr. Serrano had been deported twice before. If they believed he posed a threat to public safety, I question why ICE didn’t charge Mr. Serrano with federal offenses under 8 USC 1325 (Improper Entry by Alien) and 8 USC 1326 (Re-entry of Deported Alien), instead of putting the burden on local sheriffs. 

This is why I continue to emphasize the importance of open discussions with ICE—because simply deporting individuals is not an effective solution and does not make our communities safer.

So again, I have followed the law. I have my responsibilities as Sheriff of Mecklenburg County, and ICE has theirs. However, ICE cannot expect me to operate outside the scope of the law as my predecessors have done. I am not an ICE officer. 

I am the Sheriff, and my priority is serving and protecting my community while always upholding the law.”