For local governments and police agencies, the defeat of a bill this week in the U.S. Senate promising an overhaul to the nation's immigration laws means that they must continue to deal with illegal immigrants under current, flawed rules.

"It's clearly a federal issue," said Mike Ruffin, county manager in Durham, where an influx of Hispanic immigrants has taxed county health clinics in the past decade. "We are very much in a reactive mode."

Larry Wooten, president of the N.C. Farm Bureau, the state's largest advocacy group for farmers, said the bill's defeat means a continuation of "the status quo" for farmers who rely on migrant labor to tend and harvest crops. He said the bureau was sorry to see the bill defeated but found some solace knowing that the bill's agricultural component wasn't a prime target for criticism.

"The issue does not go away for North Carolina farmers," he said. "The issue is real."

While protecting the borders is a federal responsibility, at least one measure deputizing local law enforcement has gained a small foothold in North Carolina and may continue to grow.

A federal program allowing local agencies to enforce federal immigration laws boasts about a dozen members thus far, including three from North Carolina. Sheriff's offices in Alamance, Mecklenburg and Gaston counties are participating in the program, and Cabarrus County will join soon, said Eddie Caldwell, executive vice president and general counsel of the N.C. Sheriffs' Association.

"There's certainly an interest among the sheriffs in learning more about it," Caldwell said.

Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison is among those interested in the program. He said Friday his office is still considering whether to join, which would enable deputies to check the legal status of all arrested foreigners.

But Wake's decision depends more on manpower than federal policy. Harrison is still studying whether extra people would be needed to investigate immigration status. The answer will determine whether he goes to the county commissioners seeking funds.

"The immigration bill will have no bearing on what we do," he said.