NC pushes immigration enforcement musts, benefit cuts

IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT

The North Carolina Senate approved bills that require state law enforcement agencies to cooperate with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain undocumented persons and deny state funded benefits including health, housing and social services.

A pair of North Carolina bills that mimic and support federal immigration policy await action by Gov. Josh Stein and the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

Senate Republicans last week approved S.B. 153, the North Carolina Border Protection Act, which require state law enforcement agencies cooperate with federal immigration officials and allow citizens to sue so-called sanctuary jurisdictions for harm caused by undocumented people.

The vote on both bills were decided along with partisan lines, with Republicans in favor and Democrats against. SB 153 goes to Stein’s desk for consideration. A companion bill, House Bill 138, was returned to the lower chamber for reconciliation.

“North Carolina is one step closer to increasing the safety of every citizen in the state,” said Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) SB 153’s sponsor, last week in a statement. “The Republican-led General Assembly made it clear that harboring criminal illegal aliens will not be tolerated in our state. It’s time for Gov. Josh Stein to show North Carolinians that he stands with them and supports the rule of law by swiftly signing this bill.”

Sen. Caleb Theodros, a Charlotte Democrat, panned the bills as government overreach that will strain local and state law enforcement. 

“These bills are not about public safety,” he said. “They are about political theater—about scapegoating immigrants and aligning our state with a national campaign of fear and division.”
Immigration advocacy groups oppose the legislation as well.

“The passage of SB 153 and HB 318 is part of a broader trend of anti-immigrant legislation that increases the deportation pipeline in our state. It sends a chilling message that immigrant families are not welcome, despite their profound contributions to the social, cultural, and economic fabric of our state, “said America Juarez Maldonado, Policy Coordinator at Carolina Migrant Network. “By mandating local law enforcement collaboration, our communities are less safe.

SB 153 would:

• Require state law enforcement agencies, including the Department of Public Safety, Department of Adult Correction, Highway Patrol, and State Bureau of Investigation, to enter arrangements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

• Require state law enforcement to determine the immigration status of anyone in their custody or under their supervision.

• Waive local immunity for municipalities, which would allow citizens alleging harm by undocumented people to sue for damages.

• Blocks the UNC System’s 17 campuses from using policies that don’t cooperate with federal immigration enforcement or adopt sanctuary policies.

• Require state agencies to determine whether, and to what extent, state-funded benefits such as health, social services or housing are given to unauthorized immigrants and take steps to make sure they aren’t provided.

HB 318, the Criminal Illegal Alien Enforcement Act, which expands the list of crimes that would trigger jail or prison administrator to determine the legal residency of incarcerated people. The bill requires judicial officials like magistrates and judges to attempt to determine legal residency as part of pretrial release conditions. 

If residency can’t be determined, the defendant will be committed for fingerprinting and held for two hours after contacting federal authorities. 

The bill also requires any person with an ICE detainer and administrative warrant to be held an additional 48 hours after the incarcerated would otherwise be released.

“This bill is massive in scope,” Theodros said. “It reaches into every corner of our state government—from our foster care and mental health systems to our public universities. And it does so not to solve real problems, but to punish and intimidate.”

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