RALEIGH, N.C. — Sheriffs would be required to temporarily hold in jail inmates who federal immigration agents believe are in the country illegally, under a bill passed by the North Carolina Senate on Thursday.
But unlike two previous versions of the bill that were successfully killed by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto in the past five years, the measure has a strong chance of becoming law thanks to the Republican Party’s seat gains.
The Senate voted 28-16 in favor of the measure along party lines. Now the legislation returns to the House of Representatives, where Speaker Tim Moore said Wednesday he supports the measure and that his chamber could vote on the changes in the Senate as early as next week.
A positive vote in the House would send the measure to Cooper, who could veto it again. But the GOP’s supermajority in both chambers since last year means Cooper’s veto can be overridden and the bill passed if Republicans remain united.
The bill, sponsored by several key House leaders, focuses on the issue of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees. These are requests for local law enforcement authorities to notify federal immigration agents of a detainee believed to be in the country unlawfully and maintain custody.
State Republicans have said the need for the bill is clear because several sheriffs in the state, especially from Democratic urban counties, have not cooperated with immigration agents.
“Most sheriffs comply, but there are some who don’t want to,” Republican Sen. Buck Newton of Wilson County said Thursday. “This has been going on for years and years and it has reached the point of critical mass.”
Under the proposed changes, all sheriffs or jailers would be required to hold prisoners accused of serious crimes for up to 48 hours when a detainee is released. The bill also mandates the involvement of judicial officials to order law enforcement agencies to detain the prisoner in question, the bill said.
A Senate amendment to the bill would allow anyone to file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office if he or she believes a prison administrator is not complying with the law. The legislation would come into effect on July 1.
Senate Republicans used a legislative maneuver to introduce another amendment from Sen. Mujtaba Mohammed, a Mecklenburg County Democrat, that would allow a prosecutor to file an appeal with an inmate on behalf of a crime victim seeking prosecution against a inmate in North Carolina. A district judge would have the ultimate say in whether a jail administrator would comply with a detention request.
“You must join me in supporting crime victims and domestic violence victims and prosecutors in our state by allowing them to seek justice by voting no,” Mohammed said.
Current state law already calls for sheriffs and other law enforcement officials to check an inmate’s legal status if he or she is charged with serious crimes. If the jailer cannot determine someone’s legal status, a query should be sent to ICE.
Two previous versions 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 had concerns about whether the bill was constitutional and effective in making communities safer. It would take away the sheriffs’ authority for “purely political purposes,” spokesman Jordan Monaghan said.
As with previous bills, advocates for Latino immigrants spoke against the mandate in Senate committees this week and during a lobbying day on Wednesday.
They said the requirement would actually make communities less safe by instilling fear among immigrants, especially those who are undocumented, by discouraging them from reporting crimes or building trust with law enforcement.
“The Republican majority in this Legislature continues to advance extreme bills 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 outside the Old Capitol . “Don’t tell me it’s about safety.”
At least six states broadly ban local agencies’ ability to limit federal immigration law involvement, policy analyst Jay Gideon of the National Conference of State Legislature said in an email. These bans are intended to eliminate “sanctuary” policies that do not enforce local cooperation with federal immigration agents.
Georgia’s Republican Governor Brian Kemp also signed a bill Wednesday that would require prison guards to check the immigration status of inmates and make failure to do so a crime.
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Associated Press writer Gary Robertson in Raleigh contributed to this report.