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law enforcement officials to enforce federal immigration laws or lose federal funding. Advocacy <br />organizations from across the political spectrum such as the National Organization for Women, <br />the American Civil Liberties Union, the International Chiefs of Police and the Heritage <br />Foundation. <br />Some objections to the CLEAR Act included; 1.) The law could create a chilling effect on the <br />police's ability to community police 2.) The law shifts the responsibility for civil immigration <br />enforcement to local government without providing funding 3.) It encourages law enforcement <br />officers to rely on factors such as appearance, ethnic background, skin color and accent to <br />determine who may or may not be an immigration violator otherwise known as racial profiling. <br />During the legislative year ending in 2006; the North Carolina State Legislature passed the 2006 <br />Technical Corrections Bill, SB 1523. Section 24 of that bill allows local governments to enter <br />into a MOU with the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs <br />Enforcement (ICE) to deputize local law enforcement to enforce immigration law and policy. <br />Thus far three local governments have entered into MOU's with the Department of Homeland <br />Security. Local governments are not required by the Constitution of the United States or any <br />federal or state law to enter into memoranda with the Department of Homeland Security. It is <br />not considered a breach of any law or regulation to refuse to enter into such memoranda. <br />Senate Bill 1523 is the state version of the federal CLEAR Act distinguishable only because SB <br />1523 makes it permissible and not mandatory to enforce civil immigration law. <br />The Human Relations Commission and the Commission for Women voted to bring the issue <br />before the BOCC and ask the BOCC to become one of the first local governments in North <br />Carolina to oppose policies that will increase racial profiling against immigrant communities <br />without benefiting Orange County as a whole. <br />FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact. <br />RECOMMENDATIONS: The Manager recommends that the Board approve the resolution and <br />authorize the Chair to sign it.