SB 153: What We Know and Don't Know About NC's Immigration Law

What is SB 153?

The North Carolina SB 153 immigration law, known as the North Carolina Border Protection Act, expands cooperation between certain state agencies and ICE. It also requires a review of whether public benefits are being granted to people without lawful immigration status, strengthens restrictions on sanctuary policies, and prohibits public universities in the UNC System from adopting measures that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

When does it take effect?

The law was approved on June 24 and takes effect immediately after the General Assembly overrode Gov. Josh Stein’s veto. However, several of its provisions require agencies to develop policies and procedures before they can be fully implemented, and those details remain unknown.

Who does it affect?

The new North Carolina SB 153 immigration law may affect:

Immigrants without lawful immigration status.
People who are in the custody or under the supervision of state agencies.
Local governments.
Public universities in the UNC System.

The law has six parts; some of them are based on laws that had already been enacted, such as the sanctuary policy provisions.

Part 1: Agency Cooperation With ICE

What changes?

The legislation requires four state agencies to enter into 287(g) agreements with ICE to allow designated officers to perform certain functions related to immigration enforcement. Officers who participate must receive ICE training and operate under federal supervision.

The agencies are:

Department of Public Safety.
Department of Adult Correction.
State Highway Patrol, known as the NC Highway Patrol.
State Bureau of Investigation (SBI).

What is a 287(g) agreement?

It is an agreement that allows certain state officers to receive ICE training and assist with immigration enforcement functions under federal supervision. There are several types of agreements: one that operates inside jails, when people have already been arrested, and another known as the Task Force model, under which law enforcement officers act as ICE in the field, including during traffic stops.

What will these agencies be required to do?

The agencies must:

Attempt to determine whether a person in their custody or under their supervision is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.
Consult and share information with ICE when they determine that a person is neither a citizen nor a lawful permanent resident.
Cooperate with ICE to the fullest extent permitted by law.

Will the State Highway Patrol be able to ask about immigration status during a traffic stop?

It is not clear.

The North Carolina SB 153 immigration law does not expressly state that officers may or must ask about immigration status during a routine traffic stop. It also does not clarify whether a traffic stop constitutes being “under supervision” under the law’s language.

The text refers to people who are “in custody or under the supervision” of the agencies covered by the law, but it does not specify how that provision will apply in everyday situations or what procedures officers will follow.

Is it known how this part will be implemented?

The law does not expressly say.

It requires agencies to develop internal policies, but those policies have not yet been published.

That is one of the law’s main unanswered questions.

The text refers to people who are “in custody or under supervision,” but it does not explain:

Whether a traffic stop automatically constitutes being under supervision.
Whether officers will be allowed to ask immigration-related questions during routine stops.
Whether ICE inquiries will occur only after arrests or also under other circumstances.

It is still unknown:

When immigration status will be verified.
What information will be shared with ICE.
How long a verification could take.
Which type of 287(g) agreement each agency will adopt.
How the process will work during arrests or investigations.

It is also not yet known:

Which 287(g) agreement model each agency will sign.
How many officers will receive training.
When immigration status checks will be conducted.
How traffic stops will be affected.
Whether there will be new guidelines for arrests or detentions.

📌 Robbins, Brookford, Newland, Beulaville, and Kenansville: The police agencies that cooperate with ICE under the broadest 287(g) model

What is the most important thing that is still unknown?

Although the law is already in effect, many details about how it will work in practice remain unknown. Agencies must draft internal policies and procedures to implement several of its provisions. For now, it is not clear exactly how immigration status checks will be conducted, what scope the 287(g) agreements will have, or how they will affect everyday interactions between the community and state agencies.

Will state officers be able to deport people?

No. SB 153 does not grant deportation authority.

Deportation remains an exclusive power of the federal government. What the law does is increase cooperation and information-sharing with ICE. And that is the first step toward a possible deportation.

Could it increase the risk that someone ends up in ICE custody?

Yes, potentially.

If a person is arrested or comes into the custody of one of these agencies, and it is determined that they do not have lawful status, the law requires that information be shared with ICE and that continued cooperation with the federal agency be maintained.

Part 2: Public Benefits

Although undocumented immigrants in North Carolina do not have access to public benefits such as unemployment insurance, housing assistance, rental subsidies, Medicaid (except in emergencies), and others, the following sections of the law establish that:

The second part of SB 153 directs the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to take measures, to the extent permitted under federal law, to prevent people residing in the United States without legal authorization from receiving state-funded benefits.

The law requires the department to review and update eligibility criteria for state programs and develop mechanisms to verify the immigration status of applicants who are not U.S. citizens before benefits are granted.

The programs to be reviewed include:

Medicaid.
Child care subsidies.
Housing and rental assistance.
Energy assistance programs for low-income families.
Work First.
Refugee programs.
Certain mental health and community support services.

Part 3: Public Housing

State agencies and local housing authorities must review eligibility for public housing programs and create mechanisms to verify the immigration status of certain applicants.

Which programs are included?

Rental assistance.
Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8).
Subsidized housing.
Homeownership programs.
Affordable housing programs.

Is it known how those verifications will be carried out?

No. The law requires the creation of verification mechanisms, but it does not yet explain how they will work.

Part 4: Unemployment Benefits

Before receiving unemployment benefits, applicants must be verified as legally authorized to reside in the United States.

When must this be implemented?

The original implementation date was set for Jan. 15, 2026, but following the override of the governor’s veto, there has been no update to that date as of today.

Part 5: Sanctuary Policies

What changes for cities and counties?

The law strengthens the state’s existing prohibition on sanctuary policies. It also provides that cities or counties that fail to comply with the law could lose certain legal protections against civil lawsuits.

Part 6: Public Universities

What changes for universities in the UNC System?

Public universities may not adopt policies that restrict the enforcement of federal immigration laws beyond what is permitted under federal law.

SB 153: What Is Known and What Remains Unclear About North Carolina’s New Immigration Law

What is SB 153?

When does it take effect?

Who does it affect?