Immigration arrests up 162% in NC under Trump administration

Immigration arrests in North Carolina are up 162% since President Donald Trump took office for a second time in January, with 1,580 people being arrested. This is double the number of arrests made by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during the same time period in 2024, according to data collected by the Deportation Data Project.

Started by David Hausman, an assistant professor at UC Berkeley Law School, the Deportation Data Project collects and posts public US government immigration enforcement data from agencies including ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). It gets the information via Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

Data collected shows most arrests are of those without a criminal history

Arrests, however, are being made on an administrative basis, meaning that ICE is seeking to deport rather than criminally prosecute those arrested because they don’t have a criminal record, and don’t include criminal arrests, arrests by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division, or arrests by Customs and Border Protection.

The Trump administration is receiving criticism for such arrests, despite saying that only the “worst of the worst” illegal aliens would be arrested.

The Department of Homeland Security released a statement Tuesday countering the criticism by saying 70% of ICE arrests have been of illegal aliens convicted or charged with crimes.

According to data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University, 71.7% of the 57,861 people held in ICE detention as of June 29 had no criminal convictions, with many detained for minor offenses such as traffic violations.

Nationally, there have been 94,609 arrests since Jan. 20, up 124% from 2024. According to The Guardian, more than 8,100 have been deported to countries that are not their home country.

The biggest spike of arrests came in June, which saw 42% more arrests than May and 268% more than June 2024.

Mecklenburg and Wake counties lead the state with the most arrests

On average, there have been 11 people arrested per day in North Carolina, with the most in May, which saw 400 arrests statewide.

Mecklenburg County has seen the most ICE arrests this year with 436 people being detained between January and June, followed by Wake with 98 arrests, Cabarrus, 71; Union, 52; New Hanover, 45; Johnston, 27; Harnett, 21; Durham, 15; Forsyth, 14; and Moore, 9.

Reports state that 48% or 798 of the 1,661 people arrested by ICE in the state had a criminal record, and 20% were arrested for being undocumented. Over 80% of those arrested were from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador; and close to 1,000 of those arrested were deported by early June, according to WUNC.

illegal immigrants with criminal history

North Carolina has seen its share of problems created by illegal immigrants with criminal records, including Tren de Aragua gang members in Raleigh and Charlotte, and brothers Arturo Marin-Sotelo and Alder Alfonso Marin-Sotelo, accused killers in the 2022 murder of Wake County Deputy Sheriff Ned P. Byrd. Alder was extradited from Mexico in February and pleaded guilty to the murder in June. He is scheduled to be sentenced this month.

General Assembly passes bills dealing with criminal illegal immigration issues

HB 10, Require ICE Cooperation & Budget Adjustments, became law in November, after the General Assembly overrode former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto.

The bill requires sheriffs to cooperate with ICE under North Carolina law rather than allowing every county to decide whether or not to work with the federal agency to detain illegal immigrants arrested for major crimes. 

The legislature continued to tighten up against illegal immigration this year with SB 153, North Carolina Border Protection Act; and HB 318, The Criminal Illegal Alien Enforcement Act.

SB 153 passed 26-17 on June 10, and mandates broad cooperation between state agencies and federal immigration authorities, and seeks to curb sanctuary city policies across the state.

Beyond law enforcement, SB 153 instructs state agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services and the Division of Employment Security to review public benefits distributed to unauthorized immigrants and ensure those benefits are curtailed where prohibited by law.

The bill also includes a provision to waive local government immunity for jurisdictions deemed “sanctuary” cities or counties, allowing private citizens to sue if they suffer harm as a result of illegal immigrant activity. Additionally, it bars UNC System campuses from adopting policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

HB 318 compels law enforcement agencies to honor detainer requests from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. When an undocumented individual is arrested and ICE issues a detainer, local officials must hold the person for up to 48 hours to allow for federal pickup.

The legislation prohibits local governments from adopting sanctuary policies and introduces penalties — including potential loss of state funding — for noncompliance. Additionally, it requires jail administrators to notify ICE when they reasonably believe someone in custody is unlawfully present in the United States, even if a detainer has not yet been issued.

Stein vetoes immigration bills; faces override by the legislature

Both bills were vetoed by Democrat Gov. Josh Stein on June 20.  

He said he vetoed SB 153 because, “At a time when our law enforcement is already stretched thin, this bill takes state law enforcement officers away from their existing state duties and forces them to act as federal immigration agents. Furthermore, under current law, people without lawful immigration status are already prevented from receiving Medicaid, SNAP, Section 8, and other benefits.”  

Stein said while he vetoed HB 318 because he believes it is unconstitutional, he does support the bill’s efforts to require sheriffs to contact federal immigration authorities about people in their custody charged with sexual battery, armed robbery, arson, assault on public officials and court personnel, and other dangerous crimes.

“People who commit these crimes should be held accountable, whether or not they are here without legal authorization, and those charged with serious offenses ought to receive increased scrutiny from federal immigration officials.”

But, he said his oath of office requires that he uphold the Constitution of the United States.

“Therefore, I cannot sign this bill because it would require sheriffs to unconstitutionally detain people for up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released,” he said. “The Fourth Circuit is clear that local law enforcement officers cannot keep people in custody solely based on a suspected immigration violation. But let me be clear: anyone who commits a serious crime in North Carolina must be prosecuted and held accountable regardless of their immigration status.”

Both chambers will reconvene on July 29 to try to override Stein’s vetoes of those bills and 12 others.

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