On Feb. 16, 2009, citizens from Chatham County North Carolina met at the County Commissioners meeting in Pittsboro to commend the Commissioners on their refusal to adopt the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's 287g program. Section 287g is a part of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of Sept. 30, 1996, which authorizes the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to enter into agreements with state and local law enforcement agencies, permitting designated officers to perform [federal] immigration law enforcement functions.