Biden deportation moratorium blocked. What does it mean for NC immigrants in sanctuary? Aaron Sánchez-Guerra and Virginia Bridges, The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) Feb. 5—When President Joe Biden put a 100-day hold on most deportations after taking office last month, Juana Luz Tobar Ortega and Eliseo Jiménez, unauthorized immigrants in sanctuary in North Carolina, got their hopes up. But a federal judge swiftly blocked the moratorium just days after it was issued, first for 14 days then until Feb. 23. Now, both immigrants don't know when they might safely leave the churches where they have been living to avoid deportation orders the past three years.