NC Sheriff still refuses to cooperate with ICE (03-24-2025--Hour2)

[00:00:04] What's going on? Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon to 3 on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, go to thepetekalinarshow.com. Make sure you hit the subscribe button, get every episode for free, write your smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for your support.

[00:00:29] Let's talk about our sheriff, shall we? Oh man, he's just awesome. Gary, not my fault McFadden, is the sheriff of Mecklenburg County. Even the Charlotte Observer's lefty editorial board acknowledges he's not fit for the role.

[00:00:52] Okay? I believe there is enough evidence for him to be removed from office, but it would require the local judiciary basically to get involved for maladministration. State law is very clear. I think it's pretty clear that he is engaged in maladministration of the office.

[00:01:15] But he's a Democrat and the entire, you know, county government apparatus is controlled by Democrats and so they're not going to try to remove him, particularly because the issue is about immigration enforcement.

[00:01:35] That's what that's that's that's the ongoing issue with Gary, not my fault McFadden. And I call him that because every single time any criticism emerges of the way he is behaving and has behaved since he first won election in 2018.

[00:01:53] He always responds the same way, which is it's not his fault. It's somebody else targeting him. He's he's exhibiting all of the DARVO, right? The the the classic. It's an acronym.

[00:02:08] Um, um, um, deny. And then, uh, uh, uh, anger and then reverse victim and defender RVO. And that's so he's always doing these types of, uh, responses because he never takes responsibility for anything. Everything is not his fault. That's why I call him that not my fault McFadden.

[00:02:32] We've now had at least one change to state law. There is another working its way through the legislature to try to get this man to actually do his job. Now he would disagree with my framing of that. And here's me not caring about him disagreeing with that. I don't care. I have read his arguments. They're crap. Okay. They're crap.

[00:02:59] But he thinks that he can just say these things and then people will leave him alone and they'll stop talking about it or they'll focus on something else. He'll try to distract away to a different issue. Why don't you talk about all the good things I do? Right?

[00:03:12] So this latest chapter in the ongoing saga of our, uh, illustrious sheriff, not my fault McFadden, you'll recall a week ago, immigration and customs enforcement put out a press release. We covered it on the program at the time that had identified, uh, the results of their, or, uh, or described the results of their latest, um, immigration enforcement.

[00:03:43] Actions in Charlotte, they had arrested 24 individuals at the beginning of the month of those 24.

[00:03:54] And therefore, ice said that none of the detainers that they had requested of the sheriff's office, none of the detainers. In other words, Hey, these guys are in your jail. Let us know. We, we, we were giving you this detainer request, hold on to them for 48 hours and let us know if they're about to bail out.

[00:04:20] And McFadden never called McFadden's office never tells ice that they're about to walk, that these, these, um, illegal aliens in the jail are about to walk. He never makes the call. And he admits this by the way, he has admitted, I don't have to make that phone call. It's not required of me. So I won't do it yet.

[00:04:41] Yet he doesn't want to be labeled as uncooperative. He constantly beats this lying drum of, I'm not refusing to cooperate. I am cooperative. I'm cooperative by the letter of the law and the Mecklenburg policies and procedures and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

[00:05:04] But the detainer request clearly spells this out. I've gone over this before. It clearly says, give us a call when they're about to bail out. Here are the phone numbers. Call us. If it's on a weekend, here's a number for the weekend emergency line.

[00:05:19] But McFadden does not believe he needs to do that. And he doesn't want to do that. He does not want to help ice go to the jail and pick up these people before they get released, which then of course forces ice to go out into the community and try to find these people that have already come out of the jail.

[00:05:40] And so ice has been calling out McFadden's crap for years and he takes umbrage at that. And then he tries to play a little clever by half with the rules and such saying, oh, you need a, a warrant signed by a judicial official.

[00:05:58] And he knows full well that that's an impossibility because these are not criminal charges. Yes, the illegal aliens in the jail are facing criminal charges for whatever landed them in the jail.

[00:06:11] But ice that goes through an administrative court. That goes that that's an administrative process. And so you're not getting judges issuing warrants for arrest because these are administrative detainers. And so be and so he's citing. So he's saying, oh, I'm happy to comply. You just need to give me, you know, some warrant signed by a judicial official.

[00:06:39] Even though the ice detainer says, please give us a call. There's nothing that stops him from making that call except himself. Yet he tells us it's not his fault. Once again, it's why I call him not my fault. McFadden. He denies culpability whenever even in this case, when it's clearly his fault.

[00:07:03] Like he should just say, I am refusing to cooperate with ice because that's what I ran on, because that is what he ran on. That's literally what he ran on. I refuse to participate in any kind of immigration enforcement actions with ice. This was a promise to the Democrat voters. And they wanted him to not cooperate with ice. So that's why he's not cooperating with ice. It's very simple.

[00:07:32] He wants to make it seem like there's a lot more going on or something. And there isn't. It's really that simple. So I said none of the detainers were honored and 18 people are still at large. They can't find him. They were in the jail. They had detainers, but I McFadden let him go and didn't tell ice. And now McFadden will say, well, I had to let him go because they bailed out. I'm not allowed to hold them, but you are allowed to hold them under an ice detainer request.

[00:08:02] You can hold them. Oh, but if I hold them, then that might raise some potential for litigation. Yeah. You know where it hasn't been litigated basically all around the country. Nowhere, nowhere has this, has this caused a problem. We have a hundred counties all with their sheriff's offices running jails that are cooperating with ice and their detainer requests.

[00:08:29] And nobody has been sued. It is a red herring. It is a lie. It is a lie that he is using that in order to try to make an argument for why he shouldn't cooperate. Just own it. Just own it. Right. Just say, I don't want to cooperate. I ran on a platform of not cooperating and this is me fulfilling my campaign promise.

[00:08:54] And so when ice put out this statement, apparently some news organization got a hold of some ice official to go on camera, do an interview. And I don't know who the official is because nobody, I couldn't find the story. I went looking for it for a while this morning. I couldn't find who this person is probably because they, they keep them hidden on the website.

[00:09:21] So as to limit the, uh, the harassment of these, uh, officials. And McFadden doesn't provide a link to the story. Doesn't name the official. He just cites the ice ERO Atlantic office chief of staff. There is no Atlantic office. There, the, the, such a thing doesn't exist. There is an Atlanta office, which I assume is what he meant to put in the press release,

[00:09:49] which by the way, this press release, I have never seen a press release from an elected official like this before in my life ever. And I have read probably thousands, maybe even tens of thousands of press releases. I've seen them come across the email and, and, and whatnot. I've never seen one like this. All right. So spring is here, a time of renewal and celebrations.

[00:10:15] You got graduations, weddings, anniversaries, and the special days for mom and dad. Your family's making memories that are going to last a lifetime. But let me ask you, are all of those treasured moments from days gone by, are they hidden away on old VCR tapes, eight millimeter films, photos, slides? Are they preserved? Because over time, these precious memories can fade and deteriorate losing the magic of yesterday. At creative video, they help you protect what matters most.

[00:10:43] Their expert team digitizes your cherished family moments and transfers them onto a USB drive, freezing them in time so they can be enjoyed for generations to come. I urge you, do not wait until it's too late. This spring, celebrate your past. Visit creative video today and let them preserve your legacy with the love and care that it deserves. Creative video, preserving family memories since 1997. Located in Mint Hill, just off 485. Mail orders are accepted too.

[00:11:11] Get all the details at createavideo.com. In all my years of receiving press releases, and even writing a few myself, I have never seen a press release that looks like the one I got from the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office. First off, no date. There's no date on it. This is a statement from the sheriff. But that's not the big deal.

[00:11:38] The big deal is the top one third of the press release is McFadden himself. The guy puts his own picture on the press release at the top, like a big graphic that takes up the top third of the page.

[00:12:02] Mecklenburg County Sheriff Gary L. McFadden working to influence change by being dot, dot, dot, quote, the difference. He's got a little slogan there. And then he's got his picture of him in his dress green, like the blazer, right, with the star on it and the stars on the shoulder and all that.

[00:12:30] And he's standing there, like kind of half turned, looking at the camera. Like this is a man. This is a narcissist. This is a man that is consumed with a love of self. That you would put your own picture like this on a press release. Like they had to make this graphic. You realize that somebody they had to commission this graphic to be made. He had to direct the comms team to make this graphic.

[00:12:59] Anyway, I've just I've never seen somebody so full of themselves that they put their picture like this in this size and scale on the top of a press release. It's just a statement. Most statements and I've gotten plenty of statements from the sheriff's office before. And all it is is just a statement. It's just like a paragraph. Couple sentences. Here's a response. Here's the statement. That's all you need. You don't need all of this. Anyway. Anyway, it's just it's just one of those things I look at like you've got to be kidding me.

[00:13:29] Robert, welcome to the program. Hello, Robert. Robert. Yes, sir. I can hear you now. Yes, sir. I want to say I appreciate what you're saying, but I think it's critical on us to get out and vote in the primary. That election will be decided in the primary, not the general election.

[00:13:53] And more than 80 percent of the people who listen to the show who call in will not vote in that primary. Secondly, because they're not registered Democrats. If you're not a Democrat, if you're a Republican, change your registration to independent and choose Democrat in that primary. Yes. And we as a community need to to recruit someone other than the self-absorbed idiot that we have now.

[00:14:22] We have there was a very good there was a very good alternative four years ago, almost with Gina Hicks and the woman who ran the jail. And then McFadden took office and fired her immediately. And now I think she's been running the Gaston County jail. And she ran against McFadden to be sheriff. And she lost in that Democrat primary, which not to toot my own horn, but I did vote in that primary. I am unaffiliated, registered unaffiliated.

[00:14:50] So I went and voted in that primary for that only reason. That was the only reason I voted in the Democrat primary was to vote against McFadden. And I appreciate that. Part of her problem was she had an opponent who split the vote against him, and that hurt her. But if we if there is a qualified candidate out there, we can change. I don't know, but we can't. I mean, the statistics are stacked against us. You know, yeah, absolutely. Right.

[00:15:17] You're going to need Democrats to boot this guy out. That's the thing. Democrats have to police themselves. And I don't think that they are going to be able to do it. I would. I don't know. If they can or if they have an interest in it, because, again, this guy ran on a platform promising to not cooperate with ICE. And that's why he won. That's right. He is a slick con man. But, you know, there's if we and I appreciate what you're doing.

[00:15:46] But if we can continue to get the word out, maybe we say and identify this, what it is. Mecklenburg County is a sanctuary county. And it's a sanctuary county because of him. It's a sanctuary county because of a good number of judges and, frankly, Spencer Mary. Whether it's no better. The police are doing their job. The politicians have enacted their own legislation. They don't like what we've done as a majority.

[00:16:15] And so what they've done is they said, OK, we'll just we'll enforce our own laws. And we let them. You're right. The demographics are difficult. I am hoping that the guy who was Sheriff McFadden's assistant or chief of staff. Yeah, Kevin Canty. They just railed up against him. Yeah. He sounds like a qualified, intelligent leader. Look, I will make a contribution. If he would run, I will be the first to make a substantial.

[00:16:44] Well, you never know with all the problems that that Act Blue organization has been having. You may have already donated to several campaigns. You don't even know it, Robert. So, hey, I appreciate the call. So I got to run. Thanks. All right. Take care. Yes, sir. Yeah. Kevin Canty was the chief deputy. And the guy's got, you know, tons and tons of law enforcement experience at the state level as well. So he may be actually able to raise a whole bunch of money if he were to challenge McFadden. We'll see. All right.

[00:17:12] If you're listening to this show, you know I try to keep up with all sorts of current events. And I know you do, too. And you've probably heard me say, get your news from multiple sources. Why? Well, because it's how you detect media bias, which is why I've been so impressed with Ground News. It's an app and it's a website and it combines news from around the world in one place. So you can compare coverage and verify information. You can check it out at check.ground.news slash Pete.

[00:17:40] I put the link in the podcast description, too. I started using Ground News a few months ago and more recently chose to work with them as an affiliate because it lets me see clearly how stories get covered and by whom. The blind spot feature shows you which stories get ignored by the left and the right. See for yourself. Check.ground.news slash Pete. Subscribe through that link and you'll get 15% off any subscription. I use the Vantage plan to get unlimited access to every feature.

[00:18:09] Your subscription then not only helps my podcast, but it also supports Ground News as they make the media landscape more transparent. So when it comes to the voting in the Democrat primaries, if you are unaffiliated, you get to choose a ballot. Democrat or Republican or Libertarian or Green or Constitution, if they have primaries. And if you live in an area. Where you've got competing candidates in your primary.

[00:18:38] And two years ago, when McFadden was up for reelection. Or sorry. Yeah. Yeah. 2022. So three years ago would have been his first reelection 2022. And. And. I didn't have anybody to vote for in a Republican primary in 2022 because of where I live. And so I had there were a bunch of different Democrats running in primaries. I could vote in those. But, you know, my my districts were pretty well set.

[00:19:07] And so I didn't have anybody to choose from. But also this was a race I wanted to vote in. So that's what I did. But, yes, to at Patriot Girl who says the problem with changing your voter registration to vote in the Democrat primary for sheriff is you won't be able to vote in the Republican primary for anybody. You can't choose race by race. It's one or the other, either Democrat or Republican across the board. Right.

[00:19:32] Well, yes, if you are registered unaffiliated, I walk in and they ask me which ballot do I want? And I can actually ask for an unaffiliated ballot. I mean, that would be silly because you very rarely have a primary of unaffiliated candidates. I don't even know if there's ever been one, but not not in anywhere I've ever voted. But, yeah, you walk in there and you say I'd like a Republican ballot or a Democrat ballot. You have to pick one of the party's ballots. That's yes, how that works.

[00:20:01] So as an unaffiliated, I get to choose. If I'm a registered Democrat, I only get the Democrat ballot. If I'm a registered Republican, I only get the Republican ballot. I'm not allowed to cross over and vote in the other party's primary. I have to be unaffiliated to do that. So that's why I'm unaffiliated. I like to vote in whatever. Again, I have lived in districts here in Charlotte and up in Asheville, and it's been completely controlled by Democrats.

[00:20:27] So if I were a registered Republican, I would have no primary to vote in ever. So unless it's like a presidential race. So I prefer the options. So after ICE puts out this statement about the arrests that it made and how McFadden had these people in the jail, he did not call ICE. And instead, these people walked.

[00:20:53] And so now they're still trying to find 18 individuals. McFadden responds to a news story and puts out this statement with his big picture on the top third of the press release. Here's what it says. In response to a recent local news report featuring the ICE ERO Atlantic Office. Again, that's Atlanta, not Atlantic. But they wrote in this press release Atlantic. And it wasn't a mistake.

[00:21:23] Just that one time they did it repeatedly. So ERO Atlantic Office chief of staff discussing my alleged lack of cooperation with their detainer requests. I want to clarify that this portrayal is both deceptive and harmful to our community's safety. How would that be harmful to the community's safety? Even if ICE was lying, why is that harmful to the community's safety?

[00:21:54] Is this like I am the science? Like I am the safety? Is that the idea here? As I watched the interview, it became clear once again that ICE relies on misleading language to suggest I do not follow or prioritize public safety. You do not follow public safety. I don't even know what that means. Did you write? I think he wrote this himself. That would explain why his picture is on the top.

[00:22:21] Furthermore, the chief of staff mentioned in the report that a criminal warrant is not needed since these undocumented immigrants have already broken the law by staying in the country illegally and committing serious crimes. A criminal warrant is very much needed as a detainer is simply a piece of paper. Well, they all are then, Sheriff. Every single piece of paper signed by a judge is just a piece of paper then.

[00:22:49] It's just a piece of paper signed by an ICE agent requesting we hold somebody in custody. It's not a legal document signed by a judge. See, there again, that's what he's trying to... That's the fast one he's trying to pull on you. He's somehow requiring something that is not in the law. And he knows this. But he thinks you don't. So he's like, just go to a judge. Just go to a judge. Yeah, you can't go to a judge. These are administrative proceedings. And so they're saying...

[00:23:20] Because here's what happens. When they pick up somebody from ICE, when ICE or an illegal alien, when ICE picks them up, as I saw occur, out in front of my house a couple weeks ago. Literally right in front of me. And they came. The guy tried to evade them. They rammed his car. He almost hit a house. Not mine. But he almost hit the two houses down. Almost ran into their house. And then he jumps. He starts running through the neighborhood.

[00:23:49] They track him down. They catch him. They bring him back to the car. Throw him in the car. And take him away over to Tivola Road. They don't bring him to the Mecklenburg County Jail. They're putting him on a plane back to his home country. That's what's happening there. They're processing him for removal because it's administrative. And they targeted him because he had some criminal offenses.

[00:24:18] That's how they learned about him was because he ended up in the jail system. That's how that happens. And so rather than putting him back out onto the street where he's running around evading police, almost crashing into homes, they would very much prefer to take him into custody and ship him out when he's in the jail where he can't run. That's what ICE is asking. And McFadden is refusing.

[00:24:42] And he's bristling at the notion, at the mere suggestion that he's not cooperating. My alleged lack of cooperation. But you know who says he doesn't cooperate with ICE? McFadden. McFadden says this. So on the one hand, he's telling you, I take umbrage at being labeled as uncooperative with ICE. I want to cooperate. I'm totally down with cooperation.

[00:25:11] We should totally cooperate. But also, I'm not going to cooperate. Here's a great idea. How about making an escape to a really special and secluded getaway in western North Carolina? Just a quick drive up the mountain. And Cabins of Asheville is your connection. Whether you're celebrating an anniversary, a honeymoon, maybe you want to plan a memorable proposal, or get family and friends together for a big ol' reunion, Cabins of Asheville has the ideal spot for you, where you can reconnect with your loved ones and the things that truly matter.

[00:25:39] Nestled within the breathtaking 14,000 acres of the Pisgah National Forest, their cabins offer a serene escape in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Centrally located between Asheville and the entrance of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, it's the perfect balance of seclusion and proximity to all the local attractions. With hot tubs, fireplaces, air conditioning, smart TVs, Wi-Fi, grills, outdoor tables, and your own private covered porch, choose from 13 cabins, 6 cottages, 2 villas,

[00:26:08] and a great lodge with 11 king-sized bedrooms, Cabins of Asheville has the ideal spot for you for any occasion. And they have pet-friendly accommodations. Call or text 828-367-7068. Or check out all there is to offer at cabinsofasheville.com and make memories that'll last a lifetime. All right, so Gary McFadden, not my fault McFadden, sheriff of Mecklenburg County, does not like it when ICE says that he's not cooperating with them.

[00:26:38] He doesn't like it when news organizations say that he's not cooperating with ICE, even though he's not cooperating with ICE, and he ran his original platform in 2018, was a promise not to cooperate with ICE. But even now, even now, here's the statement from McFadden after last week's story from ICE. Quote,

[00:27:02] By now, ICE should be aware we do not honor civil detainers because they are not signed by a judge. Very clear. They are not honoring the detainers. ICE is asking you to honor the detainer. They're asking you to cooperate. And the detainer simply says, give us a call before you release these people.

[00:27:32] When a judge hears their criminal charge, sets a bail. I'm just kidding. They don't do that anymore in Mecklenburg County. Oh, that's a good time. They used to set bail. They did. Back in the day, they would set bail. So if they're about to get released from the jail, ICE is asking for a heads up and to hold that person for 48 hours. And McFadden refuses.

[00:27:59] And so the state has come in last session with House Bill 10. This session, they've got another bill, House Bill 318. Keep the legislators keep trying to force this man into cooperating with ICE. And he doesn't want to. But he gets mad when anybody says that he's not cooperating with ICE. Except when he says it himself, I guess.

[00:28:29] ICE should be aware we do not honor civil detainers. Very clear. We do not honor them. We are not cooperating with your detainer requests. Why does he get so angry at this idea that he's not cooperating with ICE? He says the chief of staff from the ICE Atlanta office who did this interview,

[00:28:54] which prompted him to go off in four paragraphs or five paragraphs here in this press release. He says the chief of staff failed to explain the actual legal process involved in transferring individuals from our custody. This omission misleads the public and takes advantage of their limited understanding of ICE's detainer and administrative warrant process, which differs significantly from a criminal warrant.

[00:29:21] Except, I would add, in every other county in the state. Gary McFadden has, he's got the unique wisdom and expertise that every other sheriff in the state of North Carolina, well, okay, except for Durham and I think Buncombe County, right? Maybe Wake as well. There's only like four or five of these, quote, woke sheriffs that are refusing to cooperate like this. He is one of them.

[00:29:50] Every other sheriff understands how this works. Oh, and by the way, Gary, you're not a lawyer. You're not a lawyer. And in fact, when you go through, as I have done for years since this guy first came on the scene, mm-hmm, mm-hmm, 2019, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Atlanta Office Director John Tsukaris

[00:30:16] told Spectrum News in 2019 that criminal federal warrants are only issued in criminal proceedings, not immigration proceedings, which are civil. When they ask for a criminal arrest warrant to pick up an individual, it does not exist in immigration proceedings. That's what McFadden keeps saying. Give me a criminal warrant signed by a judge. We don't honor these detainer requests.

[00:30:46] That's what he just said here, right? I just read the quote. We do not honor civil detainers, right? Meanwhile, what this sociopathic narcissist is saying in this thing, oh, you're taking advantage of the public's ignorance. They don't know the proceedings and all this. No, Gary, you are. You're doing this. That's what you are doing because it serves your political interest, your personal preference that nobody should be deported

[00:31:15] because that's also what he has said. He said deportation won't solve the immigration crisis. He is against deportations. So what this guy, this ICE guy says is they are at what they're really asking for, guys like McFadden, what they're really asking for is something that ICE cannot get, something that there is no requirement and no judge can issue for immigration purposes. He's demanding something that doesn't exist and he thinks you're an idiot.

[00:31:46] Also, the legal scholarship on this does not agree with McFadden. When this issue was debated and discussed because you've got these woke sheriffs that are like, oh, we can't do it. That's against the law. We could be sued or something. No, actually, no. Legal and constitutional experts agree. ICE detainers are constitutionally permitted.

[00:32:17] Local police can lawfully honor them. But they have to be executed voluntarily if there is no state law requiring the sheriff to cooperate. So if there is no requirement for the sheriff, then he doesn't have to cooperate, which McFadden is clearly not doing. And that's why the state keeps trying to write these laws to make him cooperate.

[00:32:44] He is lying. Back to his full headshot with the press release attached. It's evident ICE would prefer the sheriff's office simply hand over undocumented individuals in our custody without legal oversight. That's not your job, dude. Not your job. It's not. It's not your job.

[00:33:14] You don't get to say, I'm not going to turn somebody over when a government agency comes along and says, hey, we have a detainer request on this person. Let us know when they're getting out. And you're like, mm-mm, I'm not calling you. I'm not letting you know. I'm going to release them back out into the public, make you go track them down and maybe, you know, get some agents, law enforcement agents killed in the process or something. I'm going to let him go. He's trying to hold himself up as the hero here.

[00:33:40] Like, I'm protecting the residents' rights because he doesn't call them inmates. Similarly, he goes on to say, ICE expects documented family members and friends of undocumented immigrants to grant them consent to search their homes rather than obtaining a proper search warrant from a federal magistrate or judge based on probable cause. What are you even talking about here? What are you even talking about? This is not your lane, dude.

[00:34:10] You run the jail. You're running the jail. And somebody got arrested. You could not determine if they were in the country legally. You are required to inform ICE now because you didn't even want to do that. So now you're required to tell ICE. ICE says, oh, hey, that's somebody with criminal charges. We're going to deport them. Hold on to them. We're going to come pick them up. Do us a favor. Call us if they bail out.

[00:34:41] This has nothing to do with searches of homes and what ICE is doing in their operations and all of that. See, he is fighting a different fight. But he's pretending that this is something hyper-localized to just the jail and a disagreement over policy or something. No, he doesn't want anybody deported. This is what I talked about last week when we were talking about the fourth turning. This is the nullification crisis. That's what's happening right now. Guys like McFadden are trying to nullify federal law.

[00:35:11] All right. That'll do it for this episode. Thank you so much for listening. I could not do the show without your support and the support of the businesses that advertise on the podcast. So if you'd like, please support them too and tell them you heard it here. You can also become a patron at my Patreon page or go to thepetecalendershow.com. Again, thank you so much for listening. And don't break anything while I'm gone.