Legislative Updates

You'll find current updates on this page for NC-specific legislation. Voicing your views on immigration is one of the single most important things that you can do to support our immigrant brothers and sisters. Please take action today.

H 11, No Postsecondary Education/Illegal Aliens (sic)

Introducer: Rep. Cleveland
Status: House Education Committee

H 11 would prevent undocumented immigrants from attending any of the state’s universities or community colleges. (Other than in quoting the bill’s title, we will not use its offensive term for undocumented immigrants. We do not believe than any of God’s children are “illegal,” nor are the connotations of “alien” appropriate for anyone created in God’s image.) Currently undocumented students are permitted to enroll in both the UNC system and the community college system, but they are required to pay out-of-state tuition (which, being greater than the cost of their education, subsidizes the tuition of in-state students). Not surprisingly, there are very few undocumented students enrolled. Estimates for the community college system are that they number about 200, out of hundreds of thousands enrolled in the system.

The NC Council of Churches supports educational opportunities for all of the state’s young people. These undocumented students were brought to this country by their parents, often at a very young age. We cannot see the benefit of excluding them from higher education, especially when the state’s government agencies, businesses, and nonprofits are seeking people who are bilingual for a variety of positions. Why would we say to these young people, “We want you to take your excellent academic record and obvious potential and use them to mow lawns or flip burgers for the rest of your life”? There’s nothing wrong with those jobs or the people who fill them, but if someone has the ability and the drive to be a school teacher or a priest or a neurosurgeon, shouldn’t they have that choice?

Contact Members of the NC House Education Committee

Click here to download a set of talking points on this bill.
Click here to get more resources from the Adelante Education Coalition

H 33, State Law to Provide for Acceptable IDs

Introducer: Rep. Cleveland
Status: Judiciary

H 33 would require certain specified forms of identification to be used for governmental and law enforcement purposes. They include: a driver’s license, the state’s photo ID card for non-drivers, a military ID, a passport, or an official document issued by the US government to show the person is legally present in the US. Clearly missing is the Matricula Consular issued by Mexican consulates and recently recognized by Durham as valid ID. And, in case Durham missed the point, the bill also prohibits local governments from accepting any other form of ID and repeals any “contradicting” local government decision.

H 36, Public Contracts/Illegal Immigrants

Introducers: Reps. H. Warren and Cleveland
Status: not yet assigned to a committee

H 36 would prohibit any entity contracting with state or local governments from employing undocumented immigrants, would require contractors to use the federal E-Verify program to be sure none of their employees is undocumented, and would make them sign a statement certifying the verification. It would be a felony to submit a false certification, and contractors would be prohibited from doing business with the state or local government for a year if they knowingly used undocumented immigrants.

H 28, DHHS to Provide Law Enforcement Information

Introducers: Reps. Burr, Guice, and Ingle
H 28 would require the state’s Department of Health and Human Services to give law enforcement agencies and officers certain personal information on those receiving services from DSS and for whom there is an active investigation or outstanding criminal process. Information to be disclosed would include: full name, date of birth, Social Security number, addresses and phone numbers (past and present), names of family members, and addresses and phone numbers for immediate family members.

H 198, Alien Attendance Lapses/Reporting Required

Introducer: Rep. Torbett
Status: House Education

H 198 would require the UNC system, community colleges, and private colleges and universities to report “immediately” (though the bill’s short title says “periodically”) to federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency any “alien student” with an “attendance lapse.” An “alien student” is one lawfully admitted to the US as a student. Absences of 10 or more class days consecutively would have to be reported.

H 343, Support Law Enforcement/Safe Neighborhoods

 Introducers: Reps. Cleveland, Blust & Hilton
Status: House Judiciary Subcommittee A

H 343 would enact “The Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act.”  This bill collects many of the anti-immigrant ideas which have surfaced in previous years and in previous bills this year. Specifically, its provisions are:

• State or local law enforcement, in making a stop or detention, “where reasonable suspicion exists” that the person is an undocumented immigrant, must try to determine legal status. Immigration status of arrestees must be determined before they are released.
• Willful failure to have an alien (sic) registration document becomes a state misdemeanor.
• Transporting, concealing, or encouraging an undocumented immigrant would become a misdemeanor if done by someone “already in violation of a criminal statute,” except if 10 or more were involved, when it is a lower-level felony.
• Law enforcement is not supposed to use race, color, or national origin as the basis for decisions.
• Smuggling of human beings would become a state felony. The crime would involve transportation of undocumented immigrants for profit or commercial purposes.
• State and local governments would have to use E-Verify.
• Employing an undocumented immigrant would be prohibited, and complaints could be filed against someone thought to be hiring people who are undocumented. Complaints properly filed would have to be investigated. Complaints could be filed anonymously, though their investigation would not be required. First violations would be punished by a probationary period and could also result in a 30-day suspension of any government-issued licenses required to do business. Subsequent violations would result in 90-day suspensions or even permanent revocations of those licenses. Employers must use E-Verify.
• Those applying for federal or state public benefits would have to produce documentation of their lawful presence in the US.
• Undocumented students could not enroll in community colleges or the UNC system.

H 396, Public Safety Act

 Introducers: Reps. Brubaker, Howard, McComas, and Hurley
Status: House Transportation

This bill’s long title says about all that needs to be said: “TO INCREASE PUBLIC SAFETY BY REQUIRING AN APPLICANT FOR A DRIVERS LICENSE TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK OR READ AND WRITE ENGLISH WITH ENOUGH PROFICIENCY THAT THE PRODUCTION OF MULTIPLE TESTS AND HANDBOOKS BY THE DIVISION OF MOTOR VEHICLES IS NOT NECESSARY THEREBY NETTING A COST SAVINGS TO THE STATE.”  Nothing in the bill explains how limiting drivers licenses to English speakers contributes to public safety or what the relationship is between public safety and saving the state the cost of printing tests in another language.

S 113, GED Classes & Tests Offered in English Only

Introducer: Sen. Allran
Status: Committee on Rules and Operations of the Senate

S 113 would prohibit community colleges from offering GED classes and tests in any language other than English.

S 179, Failure to Carry or Complete Alien Registration Documents

Introducer: Sen. East
Status: Senate Rules

S 179 would make it a misdemeanor to fail to carry immigration documents required by the federal government. The bill has a section on nondiscrimination which says that law enforcement won’t use “race, color or national origin” in enforcing this law, but it’s hard to believe that race, color, or national origin won’t affect enforcement. Will I, a light-skinned Anglo, be stopped and asked to produce immigration documents? And if I say, “I’m an American citizen, and I don’t carry my birth certificate or passport with me,” will that suffice? Would that suffice for someone who has darker skin and speaks with a Spanish accent?

S 132, Interpreting Services in the Courts

Introducer: Sen. Clodfelter
Status: Senate Judiciary II

S 132 would require the state to provide translation services when a party or witness in court does not understand English.

S 204, Public Entities & Contractors/Use E-Verify

Introducer: Sen. Allran
Status: Senate Rules

S 204 mandates that all counties, cities, and public contractors must use the Federal E-Verify program to verify that newly hired employees are legally in this country. E-Verify is a database program operated by several federal agencies, and it has had a spotty record for accuracy. If a new employee is said by E-Verify not to be here legally and that is in error, it is difficult to clear up, and the person can’t be employed until it is cleared up.

S 205, No Benefits for Illegal Aliens

Introducer: Sen. Allran
Status: Senate Rules

S 205 mandates that any person applying for federal, state, or local public benefits must present acceptable documentation to demonstrate their lawful presence in the U.S.  They must also sign a sworn affidavit that their documentation is true.  S 205 also makes it a misdemeanor for a state, county, or city employee to fail to report undocumented immigrants, and their supervisors will also be held accountable if they knew.

S 303, REAL ID Act Compliance Border on Licenses

Introducer: Sen. Allran
Status: Senate Rules

S 303 proposes that people in NC because they are in the U.S. for a limited period of time for some type of work, education, etc. are to be issued drivers licenses with a colored border that demonstrates their immigration status will expire at some point.

Contacting your State Legislators

By telephone: All legislative offices can be reached through the legislative switchboard – (919) 733-4111.

By e-mail: Legislative e-mail addresses follow the pattern of . (Example: Speaker Thom Tillis’ address is Thom.Tillis@ncleg.net.) If you have any question about the spelling of your legislator’s name or whether your legislator’s e-mail address uses a nickname, you can confirm addresses at the General Assembly’s web site: www.ncleg.net. Click on “House” or “Senate” and look for Member Lists.

By postal service mail: All legislators can be addressed at: North Carolina General Assembly, Raleigh, NC 27601-1096.

To find out who your legislators are, go to the General Assembly’s web site: www.ncleg.net. Look for “Who Represents Me?” near the top of the homepage. You will find a variety of ways to search, including through your nine-digit ZIP Code. (And there’s a link to the Postal Service if you don’t know yours.) For those without Internet access, local Boards of Elections can be asked for assistance.

For legislative information:
• A wealth of information is available at the General Assembly’s web site: www.ncleg.net. Look for bill information, texts of all bills, current status and legislative history for bills, information on all members (including e-mail addresses, office telephone numbers, etc.), committee memberships, calendars for the next legislative day, legislative districts, and links to state government agencies. You can even listen in on floor sessions.
• You can get the current status of a bill by calling (919) 733-7779. This is not a toll-free call.

To Contact the Governor

By phone: (919) 733-4240

By Fax: (919) 733-2120

By mail: Governor Bev Perdue
Office of the Governor
20301 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-0301

By e-mail: governor.office@nc.gov

Some text adapted from the Raleigh Report, published by the NC Council of Churches.