House Bill 1062 would only allow federal immigration operations if strict conditions are met, including a judicial warrant in most cases.
RALEIGH, N.C. โ Mecklenburg County Democrats filed a series of bills in Raleigh this week aimed at increasing oversight of federal immigration enforcement in North Carolina.
Rep. Julia Greenfield, a Democrat from Mecklenburg County, is taking the lead on two of the proposals.
“What we saw in Charlotte, and I saw it multiple times, is that ICE was just snatching people out of yards, and they didn’t have a judicial warrant,” Greenfield said at a press conference Tuesday, referencing Operation Charlotte’s Web,ย Border Patrol’s deployment to the area in November.
House Bill 1060 would require the state attorney general to investigate any incident involving federal immigration enforcement that results in serious injury or death.
House Bill 1062 would only allow federal immigration operations if strict conditions are met, including advance notice of operations, clear identification of authorities, and a ban on enforcement in schools and churches. A judicial warrant would also be required in most cases.
Paola Garcia with Camino, a local Latino resource group, said the organization supports law enforcement โ but not all of the tactics being used.
“What we don’t stand for is the use of fear, interrogation and intimidation tactics against not only the Latino community, but the community in general,” Garcia said. “I truly don’t think that we’re going to know the true extent of Charlotte’s Web for a very long time.”
Whether the bills advance this session is unlikely. Democrats in the area were divided on immigration during the last legislative session.ย
Reps. Carla Cunningham and Nasif Majeed sided with Republicans on controversial votes. Cunningham in particular was outspoken in one vote about her support HB 318, which enhanced local law enforcement’s cooperation with ICE.ย
Both lost their re-election campaigns and have since left the Democratic Party โ meaning the newly proposed bills may have even less support.
“They don’t have a great chance, but when we get more of us Democrats in in November, we have a much, much better opportunity to turn things around,” Greenfield said.
A third bill was filed by local Democratic senators. Senate Bill 888 would prohibit the release of state immigration data unless the person in question agrees and the agency requesting the data provides a judicial warrant.
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