UNC FactCheck: Breaking down immigration claims in the District 9 race

Posted 10:00 a.m. Jul 5, 2019 — Updated 5:55 p.m. Jul 8, 2019

Matthew Langston

and

Tyler Musialowski, UNC-CH Media Hub

Republican Sen. Dan Bishop’s campaign put out a press release on June 7 with the title “MCCREADY MUM ON RECENTLY PASSED AMNESTY BILL, CRITICAL FUNDING FOR MIGRANT CRISIS.”

That press release criticized Bishop’s Democratic opponent, Dan McCready, and called on him to “stop dodging the issues and tell the voters where he stands on key issues.”

Immigration is the central issue discussed in the press release, which is not surprising given Bishop’s alignment with President Donald Trump, who has made immigration one of the leading issues of his political career.

Conversely, the issue of immigration has received less focus from McCready, who has tried to maintain his moderate image with his previous statements on the issue.

So, it is worth digging into some of the claims made in the press release and providing additional background information.

Has McCready dodged the issue of immigration as Bishop claimed in the press release?

It is misleading for Bishop to say that McCready has not talked about immigration at all, but it is fair to say McCready has not publicly spoken about H.R.6, the American Dream and Promise Act, which was passed on June 4 by the U.S. House of Representatives.

While McCready has not publicly talked about H.R.6, the “Issues” page on his campaign website says that he will “fight to restore the DREAM Act” in the section titled “Securing our Border while Protecting our Values.”

Both the DREAM Act and H.R.6 provide certain immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, who came here as minors, with a chance to apply for residency status that would give them legal protection and keep them from being deported.

Within the text of H.R.6, part of the bill is referred to as the “Dream Act of 2019.”

McCready has also outlined several of his stances regarding border security and the immigration system.

“Politicians have talked about fixing [immigration] for decades, but Republicans and Democrats won’t work together to get it done,” according to a page on McCready’s campaign website. “We need a comprehensive immigration reform that secures our border, respects our laws, and protects our American values.”

On border security, McCready has said that he does not support Trump’s proposed wall on the border with Mexico. Instead, McCready has expressed support for “reinforc[ing] physical barriers with the technology [he] used in the Marines, like infrared cameras and drones.”

McCready and his views on immigration were again targeted in Bishop’s June 11 and June 13 press releases.

The first release pushes McCready to join Bishop in calling for the resignation of Mecklenburg County Sheriff Gary McFadden, a Democrat who has refused to honor detainer requests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

This means that the sheriff’s office no longer holds individuals in jail for ICE and does not contact the agency when individuals with detainers are being released from jail. Once released from jail, ICE typically takes custody of these individuals and begins legal proceedings against them to get them deported from the U.S.

In late May, McFadden’s actions drew attention following the arrest of Luis Pineda-Ancheta, an immigrant who illegally entered the U.S. and has been released twice from Mecklenburg County jail after being arrested on charges related to domestic violence.

Pineda-Ancheta was first arrested on May 15. ICE put a detainer request on him on May 16, and he was released from jail on May 17 without ICE being notified. His second arrest on May 23 came after he engaged in a nine-hour standoff with police.

According to the Charlotte Observer, ICE officials described Pineda-Ancheta’s latest release as “the result of McFadden’s decisions to halt cooperation on federal immigration enforcement.”

After his second release from jail on June 1, ICE arrested Pineda-Ancheta a day later.

Bishop’s June 11 release concludes by saying, “We already know Dan McCready supports amnesty…”, an accusation that is debatable.

McCready has not discussed his stance on amnesty specifically, outside of his support for the DREAM Act that includes parameters for legal status – which some might consider a form of conditional amnesty.

Bishop continued his attack on McCready with his June 13 press release by supposedly including McCready’s comments on the McFadden situation.

However, Bishop’s misleadingly titled release, “MCCREADY FINALLY WEIGHS IN ON IMPORTANT IMMIGRATION ISSUE FACING NC-09!”, includes no real statement from McCready. Instead of linking to an actual comment from the candidate, clicking “view McCready’s response” in the press release mockingly sends readers to a YouTube clip of cricket sounds.

McCready did actually comment on the Pineda-Ancheta situation and referred to it as “sadly just the latest example of how terribly broken our current immigration system is.” McCready also reaffirmed his support for “a comprehensive and bipartisan immigration reform that secures our border, respects our laws and protects our American values.”

McCready did not publicly comment on what he thought about McFadden’s actions with relation to ICE, Bishop’s calls for McFadden’s resignation, or the bill Bishop referred to in the state legislature requiring sheriffs to cooperate with ICE.

McCready has previously said that he does not support abolishing ICE, as he believes the agency serves “vital functions.”

This story was produced by UNC FactCheck, a new initiative by the UNC-Chapel Hill’s Media Hub, to keep candidates in the 9th Congressional District honest in their claims, promises and allegations.

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