NCGA Overrides Governor’s Veto on SB 153, Expands ICE Powers Despite Documented Abuses and No Accountability

RALEIGH, N.C. (June 24, 2026) — The North Carolina General Assembly has voted to override the Governor’s veto of SB 153, the so-called “Border Protection Act.” The law expands statewide cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by requiring several state law enforcement agencies to enter into 287(g) agreements, among other provisions.

When SB 153 goes into effect today, the Department of Public Safety, Department of Adult Correction, State Highway Patrol, and State Bureau of Investigation will be required to enter into 287(g) agreements with ICE. 287(g) agreements authorize state and local law enforcement to carry out certain federal immigration duties without sufficient training in complex immigration law and have contributed to documented rights violations in North Carolina and other states. Additionally, overburdened state public benefit agencies will have to create new and unnecessary processes to confirm the citizenship status of beneficiaries, even though citizenship status is already verified during the initial application process. SB 153 will also limit the ability of the leadership teams at UNC-system schools to protect privacy and ensure safety on campus for students with varying immigration statuses.

By forcing SB 153 into law over the Governor’s veto, North Carolina lawmakers openly dismiss ICE’s documented abuses and the harm its agents have inflicted on our communities. At a time when federal immigration agencies face growing bipartisan calls for transparency and accountability, our lawmakers have made clear that rampant civil rights violations are not enough for them to rein in ICE. SB 153 deepens the state’s entanglement with a system that spreads fear, confusion, and harm, expanding the reach of reckless immigration agencies and greenlighting further abuse in our communities.

SB 153 must be judged in this context and firmly condemned. ICE has faced little to no accountability and continues to wreak havoc nationwide, including in North Carolina. During the November 2025 surge of Border Patrol agents into Charlotte and other cities, nearly half of those detained had no criminal record. In response to ongoing immigration crackdowns, ACLU-NC is pursuing two legal actions: a class action lawsuit challenging unlawful warrantless arrests and a federal damages claim. Meanwhile, it is unclear if Senator Thom Tillis received the basic information he requested in February 2026 about the November 2025 surge, and ACLU-NC’s records request — seeking similar information and backed by more than 40 state leaders — remains unanswered. Earlier this month, Republicans in Congress passed a reconciliation package that adds $70 billion of taxpayer funds to ICE and Border Patrol’s bloated budget without any meaningful reforms to limit violent and abusive tactics by federal agents.

To date, North Carolina lawmakers have failed to pass a state budget, leaving teachers without desperately needed raises while continuing tax cuts for corporations. Rather than addressing the real needs of North Carolinians, our lawmakers are scapegoating immigrants and manufacturing a border crisis in a state hundreds of miles from U.S. land borders. SB 153 builds on a series of prior anti-immigrant laws, including HB 10 and HB 318, that were wrong from the start and have only proven to be more dangerous since their passage.

We deserve better from our lawmakers, yet they have made it clear that they are willing to put our communities at risk for political gain.