To complement the current climate of negative sentiments and tension concerning immigration in the United States, the North Carolina House of Representatives has presented House Bill 63, or the Citizens Protection Act of 2017, which would effectively harm undocumented immigrants in our state by increasing the severity of penalties for them. Though I am not at risk under this bill, I vehemently stand in solidarity with those who are, and the bill should be alarming to civically engaged citizens as well as students.
Introduced by Republican Rep. Harry Warren, the first tenet of the bill increases the penalty for the possession, sale or manufacture of false identification documents. It would raise the penalty of the offense to a Class G felony, with the possibility of up to 31 months in prison. Not only is this extremely hard on undocumented persons who are not able to obtain driver’s licenses in North Carolina, but also college students who may carry false IDs to purchase alcohol or go to 21+ establishments, despite their immigration status.
HB63 would deny undocumented immigrants the right to post bond for pretrial release when accused for a range of crimes under the perceived threat of releasing them, and it would also do the same for driving offenses, which citizens and non-citizens alike commit, resulting in the restriction of pretrial release and threat of deportation for immigrants for nonviolent offenses.
The Triangle Hispanic news outlet, Que Pasa, reports that the bill proposes to penalize cities and counties that violate HB318, which eliminates sanctuary cities in North Carolina. The state attorney general will have to establish regulations for this section of the bill to be implemented and deny funds to cities or counties that violate the provisions of HB318.
“This bill concerns us because it can have harmful consequences for the undocumented community,” said Raúl Pinto, a North Carolina Justice Center lawyer. “We are in the process of carefully analyzing the proposal to see what the possible impact will be.”
Ultimately, the problematic nature of the bill, under the facade of providing protection for citizens, is revealed in that it allows law enforcement to work with ICE immigration officers by allowing police transport of identified undocumented people to be transferred to immigration detention centers, the conditions of which are reminiscent of a prison. The harsh impact of it would be not only on undocumented immigrant workers, but also on undocumented students and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students at NC State who may come in contact with law enforcement.
The issue of law enforcement working with immigration officers is that an air of distrust from Hispanic communities to police is developed (if it doesn’t already exist) and it is detrimental to a future where police can be integrated into those communities and trusted more often rather than viewed with fear or aversion.
The bill has passed its first hearing and will be held for public discussion on Tuesday in the Judiciary II Committee in 421 LOB at the State Legislative Building in downtown Raleigh, and I implore those concerned with the bill to attend and voice themselves in disagreement. Beyond that, I encourage my readers to go and call or meet with their state representatives and senators to discuss with them the issues that concern them.
