Roy Cooper’s veto of a 2019 bill requiring sheriffs to honor ICE detainers has real consequences: an undocumented Salvadoran man convicted of felony indecent liberties against a child was not held locally on an ICE detainer and was released by local officials, a chain of decisions tied to Cooper’s position on immigration and cooperation with federal agents.
Roy Cooper vetoed HB370 in 2019, arguing the measure was unconstitutional and would force local sheriffs to act as federal agents. He wrote, “This legislation is simply about scoring partisan political points and using fear to divide North Carolina.” He also added, “As the former top law enforcement officer of our state, I know that current law allows the state to jail and prosecute dangerous criminals regardless of immigration status. This bill, in addition to being unconstitutional, weakens law enforcement in North Carolina by mandating sheriffs to do the job of federal agents, using local resources that could hurt their ability to protect their counties.”
That veto set a policy tone across the state in which cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement became optional for many local officials. In Buncombe County that stance translated into a local policy of noncompliance with ICE detainers, backed publicly by county leaders and officials who praised Cooper’s decision. The practical result was a sheriff’s office that declined to hold certain noncitizen arrestees on federal detainers.
Marvin Ramirez Torres, an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador, was arrested in Asheville and later convicted of felony indecent liberties against a child. Because the county did not honor an ICE detainer, Torres was released from local custody shortly after conviction and returned to the community. Federal authorities later arrested Torres and removed him, but the gap between conviction and federal action exposed the policy risk created by noncooperation.
Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller, who maintained a public policy of noncooperation with ICE, was later given appointments by Governor Cooper to state task forces and the State Judicial Council. That sequence raised questions about how political alignment and patronage intersected with decisions on local public safety. Critics argue these appointments signaled approval of policies that prioritize local political concerns over strict enforcement of immigration laws.
A group of Buncombe County Commissioners even sent a letter supporting Cooper’s veto, framing mandatory compliance with ICE detainers as unconstitutional and harmful to community trust. The commissioners wrote in part: “HB370 would make it mandatory for NC Sheriffs to comply with ICE detainers, in direct contradiction to the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office local policy of noncompliance. Because these detainers are not tied to criminal cases, they would require local sheriffs to hold individuals without probable cause, in violation of their constitutional rights. Making sheriffs comply also erodes the community trust in local law enforcement, decreases the voluntary reporting of crime, and spreads fear throughout our immigrant communities.”
We write to you as Buncombe County Commissioners to express support for your pledged veto of HB370, an unconstitutional bill that would mandate that NC Sheriffs honor Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers.
HB370 would make it mandatory for NC Sheriffs to comply with ICE detainers, in direct contradiction to the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office local policy of noncompliance. Because these detainers are not tied to criminal cases, they would require local sheriffs to hold individuals without probable cause, in violation of their constitutional rights. Making sheriffs comply also erodes the community trust in local law enforcement, decreases the voluntary reporting of crime, and spreads fear throughout our immigrant communities.
The people of Buncombe County duly elected Sheriff Quentin Miller under the mandate to fulfill his promise to keep the full community safe and specifically to not cooperate with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Our immigrant community must be able to trust and call on local law enforcement when they are in need or are in danger. Breaking that trust – as HB370 would – endangers people’s safety.
That letter reflects a view widely held among some local Democrats that cooperation with ICE undermines community trust. But opponents of the policy point to cases like Torres to argue that refusing detainers can endanger residents, especially when the accused has been convicted of violent or sexual crimes. The federal arrest of Torres came after his release, which to many underscores the delay and risk associated with noncooperation.
National Republican voices seized on the case to attack Cooper’s record and warn against electing him to higher office, arguing that his “soft-on-crime” stance prioritizes political ideology over public safety. “Illegal child sex predators like Torres were released from jail and let back into North Carolina’s communities as the direct result of Roy Cooper’s weak, soft-on-crime agenda. Cooper puts criminal illegals above North Carolinians’ safety,” said NRSC Regional Press Secretary Nick Puglia. That sharp criticism taps into broader GOP concerns about secure borders and local-federal law enforcement cooperation.
Cooper has defended his veto and his positions by pointing to constitutional concerns and the role of state law in policing. Supporters frame the issue as protecting immigrant communities from overreach and preserving local discretion in law enforcement. The debate over HB370 and the Torres case makes clear that the policy choices made in Raleigh have tangible effects in neighborhoods across North Carolina.
