MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden says Republicans are using his stance on U.S. immigration policies to push their own agenda onto voters, taking time and energy away from the work he would like to be doing in the community.

The sheriff's statements come as Vice President Mike Pence pressed the issues surrounding so-called "sanctuary cities" and counties while campaigning for state Sen. Dan Bishop in the race for the U.S. House's 9th District.

McFadden thinks he's being singled out.

"I would have asked the vice president to meet me here in Charlotte,” McFadden said. “I would have asked the person running for office to meet me here in Charlotte. Neither one of these people have ever met me. At some point, they understand that my policies are in place, and I’m standing firm.”

McFadden, a former Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police detective, campaigned on an immigration platform in which he vowed to end the 287(g) program, which allows deputies to help U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in immigration cases.

Immigration officials tell Spectrum News that although they understand McFadden will not hold a person with a "detainer," or request for someone to be held in jail, they want him to work more closely with ICE. The agency says that before McFadden releases someone, he should give them a call to allow them to meet a person outside a detention center.