North Carolina Senate Approves Bill Requiring Sheriffs Cooperate wtih ICE

Advocates gathered on Monday to voice their opposition to a proposal that would change the relationship between some sheriffs across North Carolina and federal immigration officials.

“[The bill] could very well be translated as a duly directed message to the newly elected sheriffs to get in your place and stay there and to immigrants that we will do all in our power to keep you from being here in this so-called land of the free,” North Carolina NAACP president Dr. T Anthony Spearman said at a press conference on Monday morning.

House Bill 370 has been controversial since its introduction this spring. The proposal arose after a growing number of sheriffs – in particular those in metropolitan areas – won election last fall after pledging to end a program that held undocumented individuals who are in custody past the time they would have normally been released for the charges they are being held on. That extra time would allow federal immigration officials to take over custody of the individual.

Spearman called the legislation a power grab.

“One of the most hateful power grabs of our time,” he said. “For it seeks to preemptively nullify the votes of the people and retaliate against a targeted group of sheriffs elected by their constituents. Furthermore, this attempt to tear away the use of discretion in matters directed at detaining immigrants is a tactic straight off the pages of the national white supremacist playbook, and we denounce its practices.”

An earlier version of the bill drew opposition from the North Carolina Sheriff’s Association, but changes in the state Senate won the approval of the group.

Sheriffs in Durham, Forsyth, Guilford, Mecklenburg and Wake counties have all opposed the new measure, saying this would inhibit their ability to police all of their communities. All of those sheriffs won election in November after pledging to end the program. Those sheriffs are also all black and have said state lawmakers are targeting them.

Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood has not honored the 287(g) program in recent years that allowed for undocumented individuals in custody to be held beyond the time of their normal release, but he has not publicly stated an opinion on the current debate.

Blackwood issued a statement to WCHL when the bill was first introduced saying, “I do not comment on Bills as they travel through the House or Senate.”

Governor Roy Cooper, who previously served as the state’s attorney general, issued a statement Monday opposing the proposal.

“As the former top law enforcement officer in our state, I know that current law allows us to lock up and prosecute dangerous criminals regardless of immigration status. This bill isn’t about that–in addition to being unconstitutional, it’s about scoring political points and using fear to divide us.”

The North Carolina Senate approved its version of the bill on Monday night in a party-line vote. The legislation now heads to the House for a concurrence vote.

If the bill is sent to Cooper’s desk, the governor could veto the measure. Democrats now hold enough seats in the General Assembly to sustain a veto.