House Bill 318 went into effect on October 1, after state legislators overrode Gov. Josh Stein's veto.
The bill requires local law enforcement to determine someone's citizenship or legal status after being charged with a felony and other serious offenses. It also requires local law enforcement to inquire with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) about someone's legal status, and detain someone who is in the country illegally until ICE agents take them into custody.
Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood says he and other agencies have questions about the way they're expected to carry out this law.
"This is going to take weeks if not months to learn exactly how it's going to track," he said. "The biggest question we got right now is what's next?"
Sheriff Blackwood says his office is trying to figure out what exactly is needed for them to determine someone's citizenship or legal status.
"Do you ask him for a passport? Do you ask him for their light bill? There's no guidelines as to how they make that determination," he said. "I mean, if I ask you, 'Are you a US citizen?' And you say, 'Yes,' I've made a query. You gave me an answer. Do I go with that?"
Sheriff Blackwood also questioned whether there will be uniformity statewide in the process that the law establishes.
"How are we going to ensure that every magistrate, every judge, every sheriff, every deputy, every trooper, every officer who makes an arrest and has an interaction with someone who falls into these categories are doing it the same way?" he said.
Download the ABC11 App to get Breaking News and Weather Updates
NC House Speaker Destin Hall previously cited support for the bill from law enforcement agencies in the state, including the NC Troopers' Association.
Demi Dowdy, a spokesperson for Speaker Hall, sent Eyewitness News a statement addressing some of the procedural questions centered around the new legislation.
"The Criminal Illegal Alien Enforcement Act builds on House Bill 10, which has been in effect for nearly a year, by strengthening cooperation between local law enforcement and ICE. Specifically, it expands the list of charges that require ICE notification and requires more coordination with ICE before releasing an illegal immigrant. Sheriffs have already been required to verify immigration status for certain charged individuals for some time, and we have not heard of any issues with compliance with this requirement," she said.
"We worked with the North Carolina Sheriff's Association on this legislation and earned their endorsement of the bill, so we are confident it can be implemented by every law enforcement agency in this state as the law requires. North Carolinians expect that illegal immigrants who are charged with felonies or drunk driving will be held accountable and deported out of this country," she said.
Still, questions linger about the impact and implementation of this new legislation amongst local agencies.
"It's very complex. It's very uncertain and it's very difficult for me to tell you or anyone else how it's going to affect folks in our general public," said Sheriff Blackwood.