Politics & Government

NC Senate Takes Aim At Sanctuary Cities Through Immigration Bill

While Charlotte isn't a sanctuary city officially, it doesn't want its city police tasked with federal jobs. Here's what you need to know.

Kimberly Johnson, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge

CHARLOTTE, NC -- North Carolina’s Senate took aim at local governments seeking to offer sanctuary to undocumented immigrants Tuesday, advancing a bill that would target those without legal status as much as the municipalities that would pursue their own immigration policies.

Senate Bill 145 would punish cities that declare themselves sanctuary cities and would revoke state funding from universities that did not comply with federal immigration law. The state already has a ban on sanctuary cities, but this bill spells out the ramifications. The financial losses for cities could include tax revenues and road money.

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N.C. Senate Bill 145 calls for:

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  • Establish an anonymous complaint process for citizens who believe their local government is not following federal immigration law, and require the state’s Attorney General to investigate within 45 days

  • Would ban the University of North Carolina from enacting policies aimed at protecting students’ private records that include immigration status from federal officers

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  • Prevent local law enforcement from using community identification cards to verify residency or identity

  • Require Highway Patrol officers to enforce federal immigration laws

    • The bill’s advancement drew sharp criticism from the ACLU, which criticized the proposal as a waste of government resources that trampled privacy, rights and provoked fear and confusion. “This bill potentially violates federal law and the U.S. Constitution and could expose North Carolina to costly litigation,” said Sarah Gillooly, Policy Director for the ACLU of North Carolina. “But more importantly, state lawmakers should not be in the business of telling local officials to target and single out undocumented North Carolinians who work, go to school, and contribute to our communities in countless ways.”

    While Charlotte has not officially declared itself a sanctuary city, its city council passed a resolution two years ago that prevented Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers from inquiring about someone’s immigration status unless they were involved in violent activity, and that the police department would not act upon information about someone’s undocumented status, The Charlotte Observer reported earlier this year.

    Earlier this year, following President Trump's attempts to change immigration law through executive orders, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department took to social media to reassure the community it would not be serving the role of federal immigration officers:

    It’s believed that more than 40,000 undocumented workers are in the Charlotte area, the newspaper reported April 10.

    The bill has advanced to the Senate Finance Committee, and there is a similar bill in the House, The News & Observer reported.

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