The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the Alamance County Sheriff's Office and Sheriff Terry Johnson Thursday seeking to speak with employees of the local government office without the presence of County Attorney Clyde Albright.
The DOJ released the results of a two-year investigation Tuesday, which indicated Alamance County Sheriff's Office has participated in discriminatory acts against Latinos.
The Department determined the Sheriff's office "engaged in a pattern or practice of violations of the United States Constitution and federal law," according to an article published in The Burlington Times-News.
In June 2010, the DOJ informed the Sheriff's office and Terry Johnson, Alamance County sheriff of an investigation into allegations of discriminatory acts concerning policing and unconstitutional searches and seizures, the Times-News reported.
ASCO and Johnson question the validity of the Department's findings, attributing the final decision to the political agenda of the Obama administration. County Attorney Clyde Albright said the law suit could possibly end if the administration changes as a result of the 2012 election.
The DOJ has given ACSO until Sept. 30 to sign a settlement agreement deciding to reform practices, but the sheriff will not sign the consent agreement, according to the Times-News.
Further more, the DOJ decided to end the 287(g) jail program with the sheriff office, which was set to expire in October. Section 287(g) trains local and state law enforcement under the supervision of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement so local and state officers can identify, process and at times detain those determined immigration offenders.
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