North Carolina Sanctuary Policy Preemption Law

House Bill 318 enacted NCGS 153A-145.5 for counties and NCGS 160A-205.2 for municipalities, barring local governments from adopting any policy that limits or restricts cooperation with federal immigration authorities or restricts gathering of immigration status information. NCGS 15A-306 further requires that any person confined in a local jail be checked for immigration status and that lawful Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers be honored. Local governments cannot prohibit officers from communicating with ICE, cannot restrict acceptance of consular IDs in a way that conflicts with state law, and cannot create sanctuary jurisdictions. The law applies statewide and overrides any conflicting local resolution or ordinance.

Local sanctuary policies are void and unenforceable; local officials may face civil action and loss of certain state funds, and noncompliant detainer policies expose jurisdictions to liability.