16 Released After NC Sheriff Withdraws From ICE Program

Less than two weeks after a North Carolina sheriff announced an end to an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 16 people under ICE detainers have been released.

WRAL-TV reported Tuesday that the Wake County Sheriff's Office released those who served their time or posted bond. Sheriff Gerald Baker says the ICE detainers will not be honored for 79 people who remain in custody on state charges.

Baker announced on Dec. 7 an end to Wake County's participation in the federal 287(g) program, in which local law enforcement agencies check the immigration status of people they've arrested.

ICE said in a statement the move would prompt a more "at-large arrests in local neighborhoods and at work sites" in the Raleigh-Durham area.

Mecklenburg and Durham counties have also ended agreements with ICE.