Legislature Revisits Law on Immigration Detainers

A few months ago, I blogged about the legislative changes that took effect last year surrounding the processing of defendants who are subject to immigration detainers. The North Carolina General Assembly revisited the topic this legislative session in S.L. 2025-85 (H 318). Effective October 1, 2025, the law modifies some of the provisions enacted by S.L. 2024-55 (H 10) and creates a new pretrial release procedure that requires judicial officials to determine legal residency for defendants charged with certain offenses. Offenses triggering a residency determination. Under existing law, the administrator of a detention facility must attempt to determine if a person confined within the facility is a legal resident of the United States if the person is charged with any of the following offenses: a felony under G.S. 90-95 (felonies related to controlled substances) a felony under G.S. Chapter 14 Article 6 (homicide offenses), Article 7B (rape and other sex offenses), Article 10 (kidnapping and abduction), Article 10A (human trafficking offenses), or Article 13A (gang offenses) a Class A1 misdemeanor or felony assault any violation of G.S. 50B-4.1 (violation of a domestic violence protective order). Effective for any person confined in a detention facility on or after October 1, 2025, the following categories of offenses trigger the inquiry: any felony a Class A1 misdemeanor under Article 6A (unborn victims), Article 7B (rape and other sex offenses), or Article 8 (assaults) of G.S. Chapter 14 any violation of G.S. 50B-4.1 (violation of a domestic violence protective order) any offense involving impaired driving [...]