RALEIGH — A bill filed in the North Carolina Senate seeks to tighten state law enforcement cooperation with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
Senate Bill 153, titled the North Carolina Border Protection Act, was filed on Feb. 24. The bill’s primary sponsor is Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden), along with Sens. Warren Daniel (R-Burke) and Buck Newton (R-Wilson).
The bill aims to strengthen immigration enforcement at the state level by requiring various North Carolina agencies to collaborate with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities. The bill’s language references President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 executive orders on border security and cites the 2024 election as demonstrating public support for stronger immigration policies.
“North Carolinians are seeing the harmful impacts of open-border policies — from dangerous drug trafficking to criminal, illegal immigrants being released from jail to roam our streets freely,” Berger said in a press release. “North Carolinians made it clear that they will no longer tolerate sanctuary policies that put them at risk. We must send an equally strong message by requiring Gov. (Josh) Stein’s administration to cooperate with immigration officials.”
Included in the bill’s opening language is a section criticizing Stein for failing to direct agencies to follow or support the president’s orders and initiatives.
Under the bill, the secretaries of Public Safety and Adult Correction, commander of the State Highway Patrol, and director of the State Bureau of Investigation are directed to enter into formal memorandum of agreements (MOAs) with ICE to allow designated state officers to perform immigration enforcement.
Those state agencies must also develop policies requiring employees to determine if persons in custody are legal residents, make queries to ICE when unable to determine legal status and share information with ICE about unauthorized individuals.
According to the bill, all the required MOAs must be reported to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Justice and Public Safety no later than Aug. 1.
“It doesn’t matter if you live in Murphy or Manteo, you’re still feeling the impacts of the Biden-era open border policies,” Daniel said. “Now that we have a federal government that is taking border control seriously, we need to do our part at the state level and ensure that our citizens are protected from criminal, illegal immigrants.”
In terms of compliance, the state auditor would conduct a review by Dec. 31.
In addition to the MOAs, the bill directs the Office of State Budget and Management to examine state benefit programs to determine if illegal immigrants are using them and ensure benefits aren’t being provided beyond federal requirements.
Programs impacted would include Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Medicaid, housing assistance, child care subsidies and more.
“It’s past time for North Carolina cities and counties to be held accountable for harmful Sanctuary City policies,” said Newton. “We’ve seen families across the country suffer because of these policies and the North Carolina Border Protection Act gives citizens the ability to go after those cities and counties that have for far too long defied state law.”
Local governments are also being held accountable, with language included that cities and counties adopting “sanctuary” policies will be forced to waive their governmental legal immunity. The effect of the waiver would make such jurisdictions potentially liable for crimes committed by illegal immigrants and open to lawsuits by citizens.
The bill would also levy restrictions on the UNC System by prohibiting the system’s institutions from becoming “sanctuary universities.” UNC System schools would be barred from limiting enforcement of federal immigration laws and be banned from enacting policies that restrict gathering or sharing of immigration status information.
Prior to the bill’s passage in the Senate on March 4, two amendments were added.
One prohibits the adoption of “sanctuary status” policies that would impede law enforcement by UNC System institutions. The other directs programs overseen by the Boards of Trustees for Teachers’, State Employees’, or Local Governmental Employees’ Retirement Systems to require employer certification verifying that State benefits are not provided to unauthorized aliens. The Office of State Budget and Management must verify that participating employers hire only legally authorized employees.
No Senate Democrats voted in favor of passing the bill.
“It is evident there is a need for change when it comes to sanctuary policies in North Carolina,” Berger said in a statement after the Senate passed the measure. “The legislature is stepping up to ensure our citizens and communities are safe, but unfortunately Democrats are refusing to address the very real threat illegal immigration poses to our state.”
The bill has now been sent to the House for consideration.
