Republicans in North Carolina have advanced legislation to outlaw sanctuary jurisdictions, requiring law enforcement to cooperate in turning over criminal illegal aliens to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
On Tuesday, the state Senate’s Judiciary Committee approved a bill that will require North Carolina police departments and sheriff’s offices to cooperate with ICE agents when they are trying to take custody of a criminal illegal alien.
With their supermajorities in the state House and Senate, Republicans are expected to approve the bill and override Gov. Roy Cooper’s (D) expected veto. In 2022, the state House and Senate passed the legislation and sent it to Cooper’s desk, but he vetoed the bill.
The bill, if approved, would ensure that North Carolina’s sanctuary jurisdictions — Buncombe County, Durham County, Forsyth County, Mecklenburg County, Orange County, and Wake County — can no longer shield criminal illegal aliens in their custody from immigration enforcement by refusing to turn them over to ICE agents.
Despite its reputation as a red-leaning swing state, North Carolina is home to some of the nation’s most prominent sanctuary jurisdictions. In 2022, the Immigration Reform Law Institute named Wake County as one of the most dangerous sanctuary jurisdictions in the country.
Under former President Donald Trump, in 2020, ICE officials placed billboards throughout North Carolina, seeking custody of criminal illegal aliens who had been released back into communities in Mecklenburg County and Buncombe County.
A vote in the state Senate on the bill is expected this week. The bill was already approved last year by the state House.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at
