The legislation comes as the White House directs federal prosecutors to investigate state or local officials interfering with Trump’s immigration crackdown.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. โ Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd are among 11 Republican U.S. senators who introduced legislation Wednesday that they say will fight sanctuary policies and provide justice for the victims and their families who are harmed by policies that put public safety in danger.ย
โFor far too long, we have watched local jurisdictions in North Carolina and across the country ignore the lawful notification and detainer requests made by ICE agents and instead release dangerous criminals back into their communities, putting innocent lives at risk,โ Tillis said in a statement. โI am committed to working with President Trump to end illegal immigration and fight sanctuary cities that prioritize reckless, lawless policies over public safety. It is clear that liberal politicians want to put political ideology ahead of the safety of their constituents. It is time for Congress to step in and hold sanctuary cities accountable.โย
Lindsey Graham, a prominent Republican from South Carolina, also sponsored the bill, known as the “Victims for Sanctuary Cities Act.”ย
Rep. Chuck Edwards, a Republican who represents western North Carolina, is expected to introduce a companion bill in the House. Edwards criticized so-called sanctuary cities for “jeopardizing Americans’ safety” by harboring immigrants who are living in the country illegally.ย
Meanwhile, the Justice Department has ordered federal prosecutors to investigate state or local officials who they believe are interfering with the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration. According to the AP, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove issued the memo this week.ย
โSanctuaryโ has no legal definition, but the term encompasses a range of protection for immigrants, particularly those living in the U.S. illegally. Most often, the laws put legal limits on how law enforcement in those jurisdictions can cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Courts have repeatedly upheld most sanctuary laws, and legal experts said that while prosecutions are possible, they doubted the charges would have any traction in court.
Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden has been a longstanding critic of legislation that requires law enforcement agencies to cooperate with ICE. In November, both chambers of North Carolina’s Republican-led General Assembly voted to override a bill vetoed by former Gov. Roy Cooper that forces sheriffs to work more closely with federal immigration officials to detain people who are in the U.S. illegally in some circumstances.ย
Under the law, sheriffs need to hold in detention anyone who is in the U.S. illegally, if requested by ICE. Most sheriffs do this already, but some, including McFadden, have argued it’s unconstitutional to hold someone once they’ve made bail. McFadden told WCNC Charlotte in 2022 that his deputies already contact ICE if they can’t determine someone’s citizenship, citing state law. He said House Bill 10 would put deputies at odds with court orders to release inmates who have met the requirements to be released.ย
Fear over Trump’s goal of ending birthright citizenship has caused uncertainty in Charlotte’s immigrant communities. The city’s immigration office was flooded by large crowds following Trump’s inauguration, with long lines of people enduring freezing temperatures to receive help, as well as folks who are navigating the citizenship process. Israel Oliveira, an immigrant from Brazil who has been seeking asylum for nine years, was among those crowds. He described the process as difficult, telling WCNC Charlotte he always feels the need to be prepared for his asylum to be taken away.ย
“I love the Americans, but I love the immigrant community too. And they are very hard-working people, they are serious people, they are trying to do things that are right for this country, and they work very hard,” Oliveira said. “Theyโre going through a lot of tough things here, and they need a chance to prove that they are human. We are human.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
About The Author
