IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NORTH CAROLINA No. 437PA18 Filed 5 June 2020 CARLOS CHAVEZ and LUIS LOPEZ, Petitioners, v. GARY McFADDEN, SHERIFF, MECKLENBURG COUNTY, Respondent. On discretionary review pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 7A-31 of a unanimous decision of the Court of Appeals, 262 N.C. App. 196, 822 S.E.2d 121 (2018), vacating and remanding orders entered on 13 October 2017 by Judge Yvonne Mims Evans in Superior Court, Mecklenburg County. Heard in the Supreme Court on 4 November 2019. Goodman Carr, PLLC, by Rob Heroy, and Sejal Zota, for petitioners-appellants Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP, by Sean F. Perrin, for respondent-appellee Deborah M. Weissman, for Law Scholars and National Immigrant Justice Center, amici curiae Raul A. Pinto, for North Carolina Justice Center, amicus curiae Irena Como, Katrina Braun, Omar Jadwat, Cody Wofsy, Daniel Galindo, and Spencer Amdur, for American Civil Liberties Union Foundation (ACLU) and ACLU of North Carolina, et al., amici curiae Joshua S. Press, for United States Department of Justice, amicus curiae ERVIN, Justice. CHAVEZ V. MCFADDEN Opinion of the Court The question before us in this case is whether state judicial officials acting in counties in which the Sheriff has entered into a 287(g) agreement with the federal government have the authority to grant applications for the issuance of writs of habeas corpus for and to order the release of individuals held pursuant to immigration-related arrest warrants and detainers. After a thorough review of the record, briefs, and arguments made by the parties, we conclude that the trial court erred by ordering the release of petitioners Carlos Chavez and Luis Lopez because the record establishes that petitioners were held under a claim of federal authority that the trial court was required to respect. In light of that and other determinations, we modify and affirm the decision of the Court of Appeals, in part; reverse that decision, in part; vacate that decision, in part; and remand this case to the Court of Appeals with instructions that this case be remanded to the Superior Court, Mecklenburg County, with instructions to deny petitioners’ requests for the issuance of writs of habeas corpus and to be discharged from custody. On 28 February 2017, then-Sheriff of Mecklenburg County, Irwin Carmichael, entered into a written agreement with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an entity housed within the Department of Homeland Security, pursuant to § 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1357(g) (1996), as amended by the Homeland Security Act of 2002, Public Law 107- 296. In accordance with the provisions of this agreement, certified Mecklenburg County deputies, subject to the direction and supervision of the Attorney General of -2- CHAVEZ V. MCFADDEN Opinion of the Court the United States, were authorized to perform specific immigration enforcement functions, including, among others, the investigation, apprehension, and detention of undocumented aliens “to the extent consistent with State and local law.” 8 U.S.C. § 1357(g)(1)–(3), (5) (2018). On 5 June 2017, petitioner Lopez was being held in pretrial detention ...
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