A bill to restrict valid forms of ID’s and to end so-called “sanctuary cities” in North Carolina passed the state senate by a largely partisan 26-17 tally.
Supporters of the measure say local governments shouldn’t get to opt out of federal laws. They pointed to several “sanctuary cities” in North Carolina, including Charlotte, Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Durham.
Local governments would be banned from preventing their law enforcement officers from asking about a suspect’s immigration status. They also couldn’t stop law enforcement from sharing immigration information with federal authorities.
The immigration provision is part of a larger “Protect North Carolina Workers Act” that also would require state and local government agencies to hire only contractors that follow E-Verify laws to check workers’ immigration status. It now goes back to the House for a concurrence vote.
The bill also establishes that ID cards issued by municipalities and counties or consular documents aren’t a valid form of identification.
Sen. Tom Apodaca, a Hendersonville Republican and former bail bondsman, said local government IDs help illegal immigrants avoid prosecution. He cited his own experiences chasing bail jumpers in Texas.
“We chased this individual for two years and finally caught him in Brownsville,” Apodaca said. “In his pocket, he had six different IDs with six different names. When we ran the different names, we came up with three or four sets of felonies that he’d failed to appear for.”
