RALEIGH, N.C. (CN) - North Carolina lawmakers advanced legislation this week that targets sanctuary jurisdictions, proposing to make cities and counties legally responsible for crimes committed by undocumented individuals within their communities.

The North Carolina House passed a bill Wednesday targeting sanctuary cities and schools, sending it back to the Senate for final approval before it can reach Democratic Gov. Josh Stein.

Known as the "North Carolina Border Protection Act," Senate Bill 153, which passed the Senate in March, would allow state law enforcement to partner with ICE and authorize select officers to perform immigration enforcement, including checking the citizenship status of people in custody and contacting ICE when detaining undocumented residents.

The bill's wording -  "A county shall have waived its immunity from civil liability in tort if it does not comply ... and an unauthorized alien commits a crime against a person or property within the corporate limits of the county" -  is vague, said Representative Charles Smith, as the act of committing a crime is not defined as an arrest or conviction. 

The bill could also significantly expand the state's use of vicarious liability, which holds businesses responsible for the actions of employees or agents. But counties don't oversee residents' daily decisions, Smith said, and applying that standard to criminal acts would be "an unprecedented leap."

Speaker of the House Destin Hall said he was unconcerned about counties potentially racking up legal bills in lawsuits over sanctuary policies barred by the bill. Counties should be cooperating with ICE, and those that aren't are accountable to their voters, he said. 

"If the cities and counties are doing what they can to cooperate with the federal government on immigration, and if those cities and counties are not maintaining themselves as sanctuary cities for illegal aliens, they don't have anything to worry about," he said.   

The measure is a common sense approach to tackling unlawful immigration and protecting residents, said bill sponsor Senator Buck Newton. 

"I feel very strongly that this is a really strong and clear signal to localities: it's time for you to take care of your citizens and stop inviting people who shouldn't be here to be here," Newton said. 

The bill would also prevent schools in the University of North Carolina system, which includes the state's 16 public universities, from establishing sanctuary status, requiring them to comply with law enforcement agencies seeking immigration information on their staff and students. 

The state would be directed to audit public benefits to ensure only lawful residents are receiving benefits such as Medicaid, rental assistance and food stamps - a move criticized by Democrats in both chambers as being financially wasteful, as citizenship is confirmed during the application process for most public benefit programs. 

"This bill is wrapped in the language of public safety, but its effect will be to create a culture of fear," said Representative Deb Butler, saying that it would cause confusion for mixed citizenship families whose American children may be eligible for benefits and health care that their parents are not. 

"I ask, who is this bill protecting?" She said. "Not the children who are afraid their parents aren't going to come home, not the sheriffs who need discretion to keep trust within their communities intact, not the farm worker who's feeding us but too afraid to seek medical care, not the college student studying to be a nurse while living in the shadows, not the taxpayer who's now going to foot the bill for these frivolous lawsuits rooted in ideology, not actual harm." 

Janssen White, an assistant secretary at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, also raised concerns before a committee meeting discussing the matter. If passed into law, the bill will drive up administrative costs, she said, and discourage participation by lawful residents in need of public services. 

The state Senate is also moving forward with a measure to hold unlawful immigrants for longer after notifying ICE, which has already passed the House. The bill strengthens a bill passed last session to require sheriffs to comply with ICE, after several sheriffs in urban areas posed opposition to holding immigrants for a 48-hour detainer period, claiming it harmed their relationship with their communities.  

Police cooperation with ICE decreases trust in law enforcement, said Sammy Salkin, a policy analyst from the North Carolina ACLU, and undermines their relationship with their community.

Under House Bill 318, once a person has been confined in a county jail, the facility is required to determine that person's citizenship status and, if ICE has issued an immigration detainer, hold them for an additional 48 hours. The facility's administrator also must notify ICE of the date and time the detainee will be released.  

Both bills are now before the state Senate.

Source: Courthouse News Service