North Carolina is not a sanctuary state. State law has prohibited sanctuary city and sanctuary county policies since 2015, and a series of laws passed since then requires sheriffs and state agencies to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A handful of counties have been labeled “sanctuary jurisdictions” by federal officials, but that label reflects a disagreement over how aggressively local sheriffs work with ICE beyond what state law compels, not a formal sanctuary status.
What State Law Actually Prohibits
There is no formal federal definition of a “sanctuary” jurisdiction.1National Conference of State Legislatures. Sanctuary Policy FAQ The term is generally used for places that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, such as by declining ICE detainer requests, refusing 287(g) agreements that deputize local officers, or restricting the sharing of immigration status information.2American Immigration Council. Sanctuary Policies: An Overview
North Carolina barred those policies in 2015, when Governor Pat McCrory signed the Protect North Carolina Workers Act. The law prohibits any city or county from adopting a policy, ordinance, or procedure restricting enforcement of federal immigration law “to less than the full extent permitted by federal law.”3North Carolina General Assembly. Session Law 2015-294 (House Bill 318) It also prevents local governments from stopping law enforcement officers from collecting or sharing citizenship and immigration status information with federal agencies.4North Carolina General Assembly. House Bill 318 Summary
How the Rules Got Stricter
Immigration enforcement has been a recurring fight between the Republican-controlled legislature and Democratic governors. The result is a decade of steadily expanding mandates.
In 2019, Governor Roy Cooper vetoed House Bill 370, which would have required sheriffs to detain jail inmates suspected of being in the country illegally and turn them over to ICE. He called it “unconstitutional and designed to score political points.”5WFAE. Cooper Vetoes Bill Forcing NC Sheriffs to Cooperate With ICE Republicans lacked the supermajority to override.6North Carolina General Assembly. House Bill 370 A similar 2022 bill, Senate Bill 101, met the same fate; Cooper called it a “political gimmick.”7WLOS. ICE Bill Vetoed by North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper
That changed in 2024. With a restored supermajority, the legislature passed House Bill 10, which mandates that all sheriff’s offices honor ICE detainers by holding an individual for up to 48 hours if a judge finds the ICE detainer and administrative warrant valid. According to legislators, more than 90 of the state’s 100 counties were already cooperating voluntarily.8Carolina Journal. NC Legislature Mandates Sheriff Cooperation With ICE9WUNC. NC Immigration Bill Targets Sanctuary Cities and UNC System Schools
In 2025, the Criminal Illegal Alien Enforcement Act (HB 318) expanded the duty further, requiring sheriffs to determine the immigration status of anyone charged with a felony, certain violent misdemeanors, a domestic violence protective order violation, or driving while impaired. Governor Josh Stein vetoed the bill, but the legislature overrode the veto in July 2025, 72–48 in the House and 30–19 in the Senate.10The Daily Tar Heel. HB 318 Criminal Illegal Alien Enforcement Act
What the Border Protection Act Now Requires
The most sweeping measure is Senate Bill 153, the North Carolina Border Protection Act. Stein vetoed it in June 2025; the Senate overrode almost immediately, and the House completed the override on June 24, 2026, making it law.11WFAE. NC Bill Expanding ICE Cooperation and Restricting Benefits to Become Law Stein argued the law pulls state officers “away from their existing state duties, forcing them to act as federal immigration agents.”12Office of the Governor of North Carolina. Governor Stein Reacts to Override of Vetoes
Under the new law, the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Adult Correction, the State Highway Patrol, and the State Bureau of Investigation must enter into 287(g) agreements with ICE, letting state officers perform federal immigration enforcement duties.13North Carolina General Assembly. Senate Bill 153, Ratified Version Any city or county that keeps a sanctuary ordinance in place waives its governmental immunity from civil lawsuits if an unauthorized immigrant commits a crime against a person or property within its jurisdiction.14UNC School of Government. Senate Bill 153 Summary
The law also reaches the University of North Carolina system, prohibiting any campus from maintaining policies that restrict federal immigration enforcement or block the sharing of immigration status information. Sponsors described the provision as preventing “sanctuary universities.”14UNC School of Government. Senate Bill 153 Summary On public benefits, state agencies must audit 19 covered programs, including Medicaid, housing assistance, and childcare subsidies, and restrict access by noncitizens without legal status to the extent federal law allows.13North Carolina General Assembly. Senate Bill 153, Ratified Version
Why Some Counties Are Still Called “Sanctuary” Jurisdictions
Even with these laws on the books, federal officials have publicly labeled some North Carolina counties as sanctuary jurisdictions. The dispute is mostly about voluntary cooperation, such as whether a sheriff signs a 287(g) agreement or reaches out to ICE beyond the minimum the statute requires.
In late May 2025, the Department of Homeland Security designated five North Carolina counties as “noncompliant sanctuary jurisdictions”: Buncombe, Chatham, Durham, Orange, and Watauga. DHS accused them of “deliberately and shamefully obstructing” federal immigration enforcement and demanded policy changes.15The Center Square. DHS Designates Five NC Counties as Sanctuary Jurisdictions U.S. Senator Thom Tillis separately posted a map naming nine counties, adding Mecklenburg, Wake, Guilford, and Forsyth to that list.16WFAE. Tillis Names Nine NC Counties as Sanctuary Jurisdictions Following Trump Order
Local officials rejected the labels. Durham County Attorney Larissa Williamson said there was “no legal or factual basis” for the designation. The county’s commissioners and sheriff’s office issued a joint statement saying Durham “has never adopted any ordinance, resolution, policy, or proclamation declaring itself a ‘sanctuary jurisdiction'” and has “consistently upheld and complied with all applicable federal and state laws.”17ABC11. Officials Push Back as Durham County Labeled Sanctuary Jurisdiction Sheriffs in Forsyth, Guilford, and Watauga also pushed back, and Tillis’s office did not explain the criteria behind his map.18WFDD. Local Sheriffs Push Back Against Tillis Sanctuary Jurisdiction Claims And no North Carolina jurisdiction appears on the U.S. Department of Justice’s official list published under the April 2025 executive order.19U.S. Department of Justice. Sanctuary Jurisdiction List Following Executive Order 14287
Mecklenburg County, home to Charlotte, has been the most persistent flashpoint. Sheriff Garry McFadden withdrew the county from the 287(g) program on his first day in office in 2019, arguing that the 2015 anti-sanctuary law did not require sheriffs to maintain that particular federal partnership.20WFAE. North Carolina Keeps Expanding Its Role in Immigration Enforcement His position is a big part of what drove the legislature’s follow-on bills; lawmakers repeatedly named Mecklenburg when arguing for legislation to close cooperation “loopholes.”21NC Newsline. House Votes to Expand NC Sheriffs Required Cooperation With ICE
What This Means on the Ground
North Carolina now sits firmly on the enforcement side of the sanctuary debate. Since December 2024, state law has required every sheriff to honor valid ICE detainers,22UNC School of Government. Detention of Noncitizens: Understanding North Carolina Law on Immigration Detainers and as of April 2026, 19 North Carolina law enforcement agencies held active 287(g) agreements with ICE, placing the state among the more active participants nationally.23WHQR. A Look at the 287(g) Program and Its Implications for Local NC Law Enforcement
Enforcement activity has climbed sharply. Between January and October 2025, ICE recorded roughly 3,300 arrests in the state.24NC Newsline. ICE Arrested More Than 3,300 People Across NC During Trumps First Nine Months in Office By April 2026 the total topped 6,300 arrests since President Trump took office, nearly double the count for the prior two years combined.25WFAE. New ICE Data Shows More Than 6,300 Arrests in NC Since Trump Took Office For anyone living in or moving through North Carolina, the practical answer is the same as the legal one: this is a state that requires its jails, agencies, and public universities to work with federal immigration authorities, and the trend line is toward more cooperation, not less.