Starting December 1, North Carolina sheriffs will be required to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after the repeal of the Governor Roy Cooper's veto to HB 10.
The state Senate overrode Cooper's veto today, November 20, one day after he did so the House of RepresentativesThe state upper house approved the override of the veto along party lines with 30 votes in favor and 19 against.
This is the 28th successful veto override in the 2023-24 term, the most in state history for a biennium.
In addition to the collaboration component with ICE, the law allocates millions in public funds for school vouchers for private schools.
What is HB 10 about?
HB 10 would require all sheriffs in the state to to collaborate with ICE.
Who does this law impact?
As currently written, when a person charged with a felony or DUI is detained in a county jail or any local, district, or satellite confinement facility, the detainee's legal status must be verified.
You may be interested: Free legal assistance at the Charlotte Immigration Court
Verification process
Jail administrators should ask detainees directly about their immigration status, examine their documents and consult with ICE if they cannot determine their immigration status.
Procedure for ICE detainers
According to the proposed law, when ICE issues a detainer, the detainee must be brought before a state judge. The judge must then review the warrant and verify the immigrant's identity. If the identity is confirmed and the immigrant is undocumented, a detainer must be issued.
Detention time limits
The person will be released when the first of the following occurs:
- After 48 hours of receiving the ICE order
- ICE takes custody of detainee
- ICE cancels detention order
Mandatory verification of immigration status of detained immigrants
As proposed, HB 10 would apply to people arrested for:
- Serious crimes (felonies) include: Manufacturing, selling, distributing illegal drugs, possession with intent to distribute, and drug trafficking.
- Driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
- Specific crimes under various articles of Chapter 14: Crimes against public property, gangs, crimes against the person, property, identity theft and fraud, firearms, etc. (There are crimes of all kinds here, many of them minor)
- Violations of domestic violence protection orders.
What happens with minor traffic charges?
Although the law specifies under which crimes the immigration status of the detainee must be verified, and having been arrested for driving without a license or with an expired license or running a red light is not among the crimes, the issue is that the law does not prohibit it either. Furthermore, based on experiences in past years in North Carolina when the 287(g) program - which was intended to prosecute "criminals" - Statistics showed The number of immigrants prosecuted on "criminal" charges was minimal. On the contrary, most of these immigrants were arrested for minor traffic violations.
The program was completed by the Sheriffs of the state's major counties for failing to meet its objective and undermining trust between the community and the authorities, in addition to separating thousands of families.
>>>Questions and answers about HB 10 in North Carolina: everything you need to know
Legal protections
Under the proposal, officers bear no civil or criminal liability for enforcing these orders. In the meantime, detainees retain their right to bond, except during ICE detention.
Discussion in the State Senate
During today’s debate in the North Carolina Senate, Democratic Sen. Natasha Marcus of Mecklenburg criticized HB 10. Marcus highlighted the lack of regulation of private schools, the lack of licensing for their teachers, and insufficient oversight over what is taught and educational outcomes.
During the Senate discussion, he cited a report by ProPublica which identified 39 voucher schools as potential “segregation academies” following the desegregation of public schools.
About collaboration with ICE
Lawmaker Natasha Marcus also told Enlace Latino NC who, although he was unable to address the issue of ICE during the discussion, does not agree with allocating funds for this purpose.
“In Mecklenburg County, where I'm from, the sheriff says this won't make us safer. It'll do just the opposite,” Marcus said.
“Even if it did, it's not adequately funded. It's forcing local sheriffs to do the work that ICE and the federal government should be doing, shifting the costs onto local sheriffs—that is, taxpayers,” he added.
Separately, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairs Senators Danny Earl Britt, Jr., Warren Daniel and Buck Newton expressed support for the measure.
“The days when North Carolina Democrats protected criminal illegal immigrants from deportation are over. Sheriffs in our most populous counties will no longer be allowed to ignore federal immigration detainers issued by ICE,” the Republican lawmakers’ statement read.
HB 10 passed in North Carolina as President-elect Donald Trump proposes deploying the U.S. military to carry out mass deportations.
“With the final passage of House Bill 10 and the Trump administration taking control in Washington, we are on the path to a stronger border and a more secure United States,” they added.
Reaction from organizations against HB 10
Several immigrant community advocacy organizations opposed the law that would require local sheriffs to collaborate with ICE.
“We are initially sad that it happened,” Mariana Rocha-Goldberg, coordinator of the path to citizenship at El Centro Hispano a Enlace Latino NC "This has already been, under this specific name, months of fighting, but with these anti-immigrant laws, we've already spent many years fighting so that the community has visibility and that they also think about us and how it affects us, as a large part of the state and the United States."
Rocha-Goldberg said the organization will hold educational talks to explain immigration laws. They will also hand out cards that people can use if they are detained to learn how to identify themselves without having to disclose their legal status.
The Carolina Migrant Network also condemned Cooper's override.
“House Bill 10 forces local agencies to act as immigration agents, creating an environment where families live in constant fear and are less likely to report crimes or seek critical services,” said Stefanía Arteaga, co-executive director of the Carolina Migrant Network.
“The dying supermajority of our current legislature is using its last breath of power before a new, more balanced legislature takes office next year,” said Iliana Santillán, executive director of El Pueblo INC, in a statement.
“We have fought against this legislation for almost two years and similar ones for almost five years. We are well aware of the impact HB5 could have on our immigrant and Latino communities. We will be working in the coming weeks to inform and prepare our community to face the challenges this new law will bring,” he said.
*This story has been updated to include more detailed explanation of North Carolina's HB 10 law.
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Hello Claudia, how are you? God bless you. I have a question: is it safe to move to North Carolina as an undocumented person in this time that we live with these laws?