RALEIGH, North Carolina – Sheriffs would be required to temporarily hold inmates in jail who federal immigration agents believe are in the country illegally, under a bill approved by the North Carolina Senate on Thursday.
But unlike two previous versions of the bill successfully defeated by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto over the past five years, the measure has a strong chance of becoming law thanks to GOP seat gains.
The Senate voted along party lines in favor of the measure in a vote of 28 to 16. Now the legislation returns to the House, where Speaker Tim Moore said Wednesday that he supports the measure and that his chamber will be able to vote on it. changes in the Senate next week.
An affirmative vote in the House would send the measure to Cooper, who could veto it again. But a GOP supermajority in both chambers from last year means Cooper’s veto could be overridden and the bill passed if Republicans remain united.
The bill, sponsored by several top House leaders, focuses on the issue of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers. These are requests for local authorities to notify federal immigration agents about an inmate believed to be in the country illegally and maintain custody.
State Republicans said the need for the bill is apparent as several sheriffs across the state, especially in Democratic urban counties, have not cooperated with immigration agents.
“Most sheriffs comply, but we have some who don’t,” Wilson County Republican Sen. Buck Newton said Thursday. “This has been going on for years and years and years until it reached the point of critical mass.”
Under the proposed changes, all sheriffs or jailers are required to hold inmates accused of serious crimes for up to 48 hours if an arrest is issued. It also requires the involvement of judicial officials to order authorities to detain the inmate in question, according to the bill.
A Senate amendment to the bill would allow anyone to file a complaint with the state Attorney General’s Office if they believe a prison administrator is not following the law. The legislation would come into force on July 1.
Senate Republicans used a parliamentary maneuver to introduce another amendment from Sen. Mujtaba Mohammed, a Democrat from Mecklenburg County, that would allow a district attorney to file an objection to a detainee on behalf of a crime victim seeking prosecution of an inmate in North Caroline. A district judge would have the final say on whether a prison administrator would grant a detention request.
“You need to join me in supporting crime and domestic violence victims and prosecutors across our state, allowing them to seek justice by voting no,” Mohammed said.
Current state law already requires sheriffs or other law enforcement officials to check an inmate’s legal status if he or she is charged with serious crimes. If the jailer is unable to determine someone’s legal status, a query must be sent to ICE.
Two previous iterations of the bill failed to become law in 2019 and 2022, when Cooper vetoed them and Democrats had enough seats to block an override veto.
In response to the legislation, the governor’s office said Wednesday that Cooper was concerned about whether the bill was constitutional and effective in making communities safer. It would strip sheriffs of their authority for “purely political purposes,” said spokesman Jordan Monaghan.
As with previous versions of the bill, Latino immigrant advocates spoke against the mandate in Senate committees this week and during a day of lobbying on Wednesday.
They said the requirement would make communities less safe by instilling fear in immigrants, especially those who are undocumented, by discouraging them from reporting crimes or building trust in authorities.
“The Republican majority in this legislature continues to push extreme laws that target immigrants and punish our community for merely existing,” said Axel Herrera Ramos of Durham, with the advocacy group Mi Familia en Acción, at a rally in front of the old building of the Capitol. “Don’t tell me it’s a safety issue.”
At least six states broadly prohibit the ability of local agencies to restrict the involvement of federal immigration law enforcement, Jay Gideon, a policy analyst at the National Conference of State Legislatures, said in an email. These bans aim to overturn “sanctuary” policies that do not mandate local cooperation with federal immigration agents.
Georgia’s Republican governor, Brian Kemp, also signed a bill Wednesday requiring jailers to check inmates’ immigration status and criminalizing failure to do so.
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Associated Press writer Gary Robertson in Raleigh contributed to this report.
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