CNN Lou Dobbs - video:Mecklenburg County's 287(g) Program a Huge Success in Deporting Criminal AliensThe sheriff of Mecklenburg County in North Carolina has something to be proud of. He and his deputies have identified almost 2,000 illegal aliens, and among them, about 1,000 convicted criminals, marking them for deportation. The sheriff's office is working in cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, using the authority known as 287- G under the federal immigration code. Sheriff Jim Pendergraph said: "Without hesitation, the people in Washington and the people in virtually every state capital in this country have been asleep at the wheel and are so out of touch with reality about what's going on in this country, one day some of them are going to wake up and say, what happened?" The people he's referring to are Congress and the president, who he sees as responsible for letting the illegal alien crisis get out of hand. Sheriff Pendergraph has company. Training began this week for deputies in Orange County, California, where 24 deputies are being trained. To date, ICE has trained police in Florida, Alabama, North Carolina, Arizona and California in immigration enforcement. Fourteen more departments in six states have requested similar training. The reason for the increased interest is as plain as the map in Mecklenburg County. Sheriff Pendergraph said: "When you remove a thousand people from a community that have committed a crime, it's going to make a difference in the crime rate."