Lincoln County, NC Immigration Policy: Sanctuary Policy Preemption (2026)

01 in Chapter 30 (County Policies), Title III: Administration, this is the opposite of a sanctuary policy: the Board of Commissioners directs county staff, with respect to “illegal residents” (the ordinance’s term), to take six specific actions rather than leaving enforcement to state law alone. First, the county ceases local funding for any local program to the extent it serves undocumented residents, and reduces spending on federally- and state-funded non-mandated programs that serve them. Second, the county will not contract with local or out-of-county businesses that employ or use identifiable undocumented residents where county tax dollars are spent.

Third, and most consequential day to day, the policy directs the Sheriff to consistently check the immigration status of each undocumented resident upon arrest, using fingerprints, federally-verified Social Security numbers, and other accessible data. Fourth, it affirmatively allows the Sheriff's Office to partner with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to verify status during any public safety investigation and to detain identified undocumented residents for deportation. Finally, every county department is directed to reduce discretionary services to illegal aliens wherever it has the information to do so.

Because this is a Board resolution embedded in the general code rather than a state mandate, it binds Lincoln County government operations and the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, distinct from whatever policy the City of Lincolnton sets for its own police department within its own limits.