Is South Carolina a Sanctuary State: Ban, E-Verify, and 287(g)

South Carolina is not a sanctuary state. State law goes a step further and forbids any city, county, school district, or special purpose district from adopting sanctuary policies of its own. The controlling statute, S.C. Code § 6-1-170, voids any local ordinance that would limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities, and separate laws require police to check immigration status in certain encounters, require jails to verify the status of inmates, and require every private employer in the state to use E-Verify.

The State Ban on Local Sanctuary Policies

Section 6-1-170 applies to every political subdivision in South Carolina: municipalities, counties, school districts, special purpose districts, and public service districts. It does two things. It bars a local government from passing any ordinance or policy that prevents its officers, officials, or employees from enforcing state immigration laws. And it bars any policy that stops those same people from sharing a person’s immigration status with federal or state authorities.¹

Local governments also cannot write their own employment or licensing rules on work authorization that conflict with federal or state law. Any ordinance that crosses the line is automatically void.¹

The U.S. Department of Justice has published its own list of sanctuary jurisdictions. South Carolina does not appear on it.²

What This Means During a Police Encounter

Under S.C. Code § 17-13-170, when an officer lawfully stops, detains, investigates, or arrests someone for a criminal offense and develops reasonable suspicion that the person is unlawfully present in the United States, the officer must make a reasonable effort to determine the person’s status. The one exception is when running that check would interfere with the underlying investigation.³

A person is presumed to be lawfully present if they produce a valid photo ID. Qualifying IDs include a South Carolina driver’s license or ID card, a license or ID from another state, a federal photo ID such as a passport or military identification, or a tribal photo ID. Even without the card in hand, the presumption applies if the officer can otherwise verify that one of those IDs was issued to the person. Once the presumption is met, the officer cannot continue the stop based solely on immigration status.³

If the person cannot meet that presumption, the officer must try to verify status through federal channels: ICE’s Law Enforcement Support Center, the International Justice and Public Safety Network, or the state’s Illegal Immigration Enforcement Unit. The person can be held only for a reasonable time while that happens. If none of those channels confirm the person’s status, the stop cannot continue on immigration grounds alone.⁴

Showing a fake ID to establish lawful presence is a separate crime, a misdemeanor on a first offense and a felony on any later offense.⁴ School resource officers in elementary and secondary schools are exempt from the verification requirements.³

Status Checks at Jails

Once someone is booked into a South Carolina jail, a separate check kicks in. Under S.C. Code § 23-3-1100, enacted in the 2008 Illegal Immigration Reform Act, the keeper of any jail or detention facility must make a reasonable effort to determine whether an inmate is lawfully present. If the person appears to be an alien, the facility must query the Law Enforcement Support Center of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security within 72 hours. If the query confirms unlawful presence, the facility must notify DHS. The check happens regardless of what the underlying charge is.⁵

Mandatory E-Verify for Employers

Every private employer in South Carolina must use the federal E-Verify system to confirm that each new hire is authorized to work. S.C. Code § 41-8-20 requires the employer to submit the new employee’s information to E-Verify within three business days of hire. The employee can start work during that window, but if E-Verify does not confirm authorization, the employer must terminate the person immediately.⁶

Penalties escalate with each violation. A first failure to use E-Verify brings a one-year probation with quarterly reporting. Later failures bring business license suspensions of 10 to 30 days. Knowingly hiring an unauthorized worker triggers license suspensions that lengthen with each offense, and a third offense results in permanent license revocation. Each worker whose status goes unverified counts as a separate violation.⁷

Employers who use E-Verify in good faith get a safe harbor: compliance creates a legal presumption that the employer did not knowingly hire an unauthorized worker. Filing false or fraudulent documents under the chapter is a felony carrying up to five years in prison.⁶

287(g) Agreements With ICE

South Carolina has leaned into the federal 287(g) program, named for the section of the Immigration and Nationality Act that authorizes it. The program lets state and local law enforcement agencies sign memoranda of understanding with ICE that give designated officers limited authority to perform immigration enforcement functions. The 2008 Illegal Immigration Reform Act directed the chief of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to negotiate those agreements on training, detention costs, and removal procedures.⁵

As of early 2026, more than 30 South Carolina law enforcement agencies have active 287(g) agreements with ICE. The participants include sheriff’s offices in Greenville, Charleston, Spartanburg, Horry, and Berkeley counties, several smaller police departments, and both SLED and the Department of Public Safety at the state level. The agreements use different models, including warrant service, task-force operations, and jail enforcement screening of inmates.

A Pending Bill Would Tie State Money to Compliance

Senate Bill 735, pending as of mid-2026, would add financial consequences on top of the existing ban. It would prohibit state funds from going to any political subdivision a court finds to be a sanctuary jurisdiction, and it would direct the State Treasurer to withhold Local Government Fund disbursements from any county or municipality that fails to receive certification as immigration-compliant. The bill would also create an annual certification process. S. 735 was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee after its introduction in January 2026 and had not advanced to a floor vote at the time of this writing.⁸

How a Resident Can Challenge a Local Policy

If you believe your city or county has adopted a sanctuary-style policy, § 6-1-170(E) gives you a private right of action. A resident of the political subdivision can file a civil lawsuit in circuit court against the subdivision itself to block any ordinance or policy that limits immigration enforcement or restricts communication with federal authorities about a person’s immigration status. If the court finds an intentional violation, it must enjoin the policy and may award reasonable attorney fees to the person who sued.¹

1
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 6, Chapter 1 – Section 6-1-170
2
United States Department of Justice. Justice Department Publishes List of Sanctuary Jurisdictions
3
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 17-13-170 – Law Enforcement Authorization to Determine Immigration Status
4
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 17, Chapter 13 – Section 17-13-170
5
South Carolina Legislature. 2007-2008 Bill 4400 – South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act
6
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 41, Chapter 8 – Illegal Aliens and Private Employment
7
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 41, Chapter 8 – Illegal Aliens and Private Employment – Section 41-8-50
8
South Carolina Legislature. 2025-2026 Bill 735 – Sanctuary Jurisdictions and Release of Illegal Aliens