In November 2024, House Bill 10, a Republican-sponsored bill, was signed into law after legislators voted to override a veto by then-Gov. Roy Cooper. The bill's immigration enforcement component finally became law after years of Republican legislators failing to pass similar bills in 2019 and in 2021.
The law is meant to remove undocumented immigrants accused of violent crimes by verifying their immigration status with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It forces all sheriffs in the state to hold any suspect with a detainer in their jail for up to an extra 48 hours to allow time for ICE agents to come and take them into custody.
Rep. Destin Hall, the bill’s lead sponsor, stated that the law is meant to enforce cooperation with ICE in counties where sheriffs either ended 287(g) agreements or began declining to "honor" ICE detainer requests.
In Mecklenburg County, one of two largest counties in the state, Democratic Sheriff Garry McFadden was one of the most vocal in opposition to the bill — and in 2018, McFadden announced terminating the jail’s 287(g) program. The 287(g) agreement is an opt-in program that facilitates communication between jails and immigration agents on the immigration status of those arrested.
Since the bill’s passage, lawmakers now say McFadden has ignored orders from ICE and has released individuals arrested for serious crimes. In response, Hall has filed a new bill to require sheriffs to cooperate even more with ICE — not just holding immigrants when ICE issues a detainer.
We sit down with Sheriff McFadden on Charlotte Talks to discuss his side of an ongoing dispute, his leadership at the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office and what it all means for the safety of Mecklenburg County.
GUEST
Garry McFadden, sheriff of Mecklenburg County
