North Carolina SB 917: MELT Act: Support Immigrant Legal Defense.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 917

Short Title: MELT Act: Support Immigrant Legal Defense. (Public)
Sponsors: Senators Theodros, Mohammed, and Chitlik (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
April 30, 2026
*S917-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO REPEAL SESSION LAW 2025-85 (HOUSE BILL 318), TO REQUIRE A 2
JUDICIAL WARRANT FOR FEDERAL IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS, 3
AND TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR COMMUNITY-BASED IMMIGRATION LEGAL 4
SERVICES. 5
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 6
7
PART I. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS 8
SECTION 1.1. The General Assembly makes the following findings: 9
(1) Session Law 2025-85 (House Bill 318) expanded cooperation between local 10
jails and federal immigration enforcement in ways that chilled community 11
trust in law enforcement. 12
(2) Session Law 2025-85 created additional pretrial detention based on 13
immigration status rather than risk or flight, undermining due process. 14
(3) Warrantless civil immigration arrests based solely on administrative warrants 15
raise serious constitutional and civil liberty concerns. 16
(4) North Carolina benefits when immigrant residents have access to competent 17
legal counsel in removal proceedings, asylum claims, and status stabilization 18
matters. 19
(5) Investing in trusted, community-based legal service providers is a more 20
effective and humane approach than prolonging detention based on federal 21
immigration detainers. 22
23
PART II. TITLE 24
SECTION 2.1. This act shall be known as "Repeal Session Law 2025-85 and 25
Support Immigrant Legal Defense Act." 26
27
PART III. REPEAL SESSION LAW 2025-85 28
SECTION 3.1. S.L. 2025-85 is repealed. 29
30
PART IV. REQUIREMENT OF JUDICIAL WARRANT FOR FEDERAL 31
IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS WITHIN NORTH CAROLINA 32
SECTION 4.1. Article 20 of Chapter 15A of the General Statutes is amended by 33
adding two new sections to read: 34
"§ 15A-407. Judicial warrants required. 35
(a) Definitions. – For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: 36

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 917-First Edition
(1) Administrative warrant. – Any warrant, detainer, or notice issued by a federal 1
executive branch immigration agency without prior judicial approval. 2
(2) Judicial warrant. – A warrant issued by a judge or magistrate based on a 3
finding of probable cause. 4
(b) Judicial Warrant Requirement. – Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no 5
officer, agent, or employee of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or U.S. Immigration 6
and Customs Enforcement (ICE) may take a person into custody, search a person, search 7
property, enter a residence, or otherwise conduct an immigration enforcement action within the 8
territorial jurisdiction of North Carolina unless the officer is acting pursuant to a valid judicial 9
warrant issued by a federal or State court based on probable cause. 10
(c) Administrative Warrants are Insufficient. – For the purposes of this section, an 11
administrative warrant, immigration detainer, notice of action, or other civil immigration 12
document issued solely by the United States Department of Homeland Security, CBP, or ICE 13
shall not constitute a judicial warrant. The aforementioned documents are insufficient for all of 14
the following actions: 15
(1) The detention, arrest, or search of any person or that person's domicile. 16
(2) The continued custody of any individual beyond their lawful release. 17
(3) Access to, disclosure of, or use of State or local government records, 18
databases, or systems, including, but not limited to, Division of Motor Vehicle 19
records, unless a warrant has been issued by a neutral judicial officer based on 20
probable cause. 21
(d) Limits on State and Local Assistance. – A State or local law enforcement agency, 22
officer, or employee shall not: 23
(1) Detain or continue to detain a person solely based on a CBP or ICE 24
administrative warrant or detainer. 25
(2) Transfer custody of a person to CBP or ICE in the absence of a judicial 26
warrant. 27
(3) Provide access to nonpublic areas of a detention facility to CBP or ICE for the 28
purpose of questioning, interviewing, or arresting a person without a judicial 29
warrant. 30
(e) Right to Not Cooperate. – Counties, municipalities, sheriffs, and local law 31
enforcement agencies retain the right to decline cooperation with federal immigration 32
enforcement in the absence of a judicial warrant. 33
(f) Exemption for Criminal Warrants. – Nothing in this section prohibits cooperation 34
with CBP or ICE when they are acting pursuant to a valid criminal warrant issued by a federal 35
court based on probable cause for a violation of federal criminal law. 36
(g) Remedies. – A person aggrieved by a violation of this section may seek declaratory 37
or injunctive relief in State court, and any evidence obtained in violation of this section shall be 38
inadmissible in any Sta