Urban sheriffs back veto of immigration enforcement bill

IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT

Sheriffs from North Carolina’s biggest counties are backing Gov. Josh Stein’s veto of HB 318, which enhances requirements for local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement officials.

Mecklenburg County Sheriff Gary McFadden is calling on North Carolina lawmakers to sustain Gov. Josh Stein’s veto of a bill that expands requirements of local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration officials.

McFadden and Durham County Sheriff Clarence Birkhead announced June 23 their opposition of HB 318. The statements followed similar comments by Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough and Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers on Friday. HB 318, the Criminal Illegal Alien Enforcement Act, which expands the list of offenses that trigger jail or prison administrators to determine 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. 

“I appreciate that some lawmakers may have supported this measure out of a shared desire to keep our community safe,” McFadden said in a statement. “However, redirecting local law enforcement resources towards detaining people accused of nonviolent offenses will not make us more safe. Driving people into the shadows will not make us more safe. Breaking apart and traumatizing families will not make us safe. The way to make our communities safer is for lawmakers to sustain Governor Stein’s veto and to work with local law enforcement agencies like ours on real public safety solutions.”

HB 318 would expand on a 2024 law that adds new requirements for how sheriffs must collaborate with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The bill:
• Adds all felony charges, including nonviolent crimes to the list that triggers citizenship verification. 

• Starts the required 48-hour ICE detainer hold to when people would be otherwise be released from county custody. It’s a change from current law, which starts the clock when an administrative warrant of an ICE detainer request is received.

• Requires jail administrators to notify ICE within two hours of when they plan to release a person held on a detainer. 

“Forcing my deputies to focus on holding and transferring people who have not been accused of a violent crime may help ICE meet their deportation quotas, but it won’t help address the real safety concerns that Durham County residents have,” Birkhead said. “Safety starts with keeping families together, with keeping communities whole, and with building trust with law enforcement. I am calling on lawmakers to sustain the governor’s veto because HB 318 runs counter to every one of these principles.”

HB 318 passed the House when Charlotte Democrat Carla Cunningham sided with Republicans to support the bill. One Democrat will need to side with the GOP caucus to override Stein’s veto.

“I am vetoing House Bill 318 because it is unconstitutional. I support the bill’s efforts to require sheriffs to contact federal immigration authorities about people in their custody charged with sexual battery, armed robbery, arson, assault on public officials and court personnel, and other dangerous crimes,” Stein said last week in explaining the veto. “People who commit these crimes should be held accountable, whether or not they are here without legal authorization, and those charged with serious offenses ought to receive increased scrutiny from federal immigration officials. 

“My oath of office requires that I uphold the Constitution of the United States. Therefore, I cannot sign this bill because it would require sheriffs to unconstitutionally detain people for up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released. The Fourth Circuit is clear that local law enforcement officers cannot keep people in custody solely based on a suspected immigration violation. But let me be clear: anyone who commits a serious crime in North Carolina must be prosecuted and held accountable regardless of their immigration status.”

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