Two pieces of legislation that would involve North Carolina more deeply in the U.S. immigration crackdown passed the Republican-controlled General Assembly on Tuesday.
Democratic Gov. Josh Stein now has 10 days to decide if he will sign the bills. A spokesperson said Stein was reviewing the proposals.
"He has made clear that if someone commits a crime and they are here illegally; they should be deported," the spokesperson said in an email Tuesday.
Senate Bill 153 was named the "North Carolina Border Protection Act."
It would:
- Require state law enforcement agencies cooperate with the federal government on immigration enforcement.
- Allow lawsuits against so-called "sanctuary" communities by victims of crimes committed by illegal immigrants.
- Bar schools in the University of North Carolina system from obstructing ICE.
- Ban the provision of benefits and housing assistance to people in the county illegally.
Sheriff's offices were ordered last year to sign the same agreements with ICE that S.B. 153 would require of state agencies.
Local law enforcement agencies must now check the immigration status of certain people they detain. If a person is in the U.S. illegally, they must be held in jail for at least 48 hours, giving ICE agents time to pick them up for deportation proceedings.
House Bill 318 expands on that 2024 legislation. It requires the 48-hour hold begin only after a person would ordinarily have been released. It also adds minor crimes like impaired driving to the list of charges for which ICE-detainers must be honored.
House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, will need to win over a Democrat or take advantage of absences to successfully override a Stein veto.
Rep. Carla Cunningham, D-Mecklenburg, voted against S.B. 153, but supported H.B. 318. She was the only legislator to cross party lines in the votes.
"I'm hopeful and optimistic that we'll be able to override. And with that said, I'm hopeful and optimistic that Gov. Stein may not veto these bills, but we'll see," Hall told reporters last week.
"I hope he signs them. If he doesn't sign them, I hope he just lets them become law," Senate Majority Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, said Tuesday.
Democrats in both chambers opposed the legislation, saying it will harm legal immigrants too.
"(Business owners say) people who are here legally are not coming to work, because it's pick up first, ask questions later," Senate Minority Leader Sydney Batch, D-Wake, told reporters. "They fear that they're just gonna be picked up on a raid and you'll never see them again."
Sen. Natalie Murdock, D-Durham, quoted a report from the independent NC Budget & Tax Center that says immigrants have a $59 billion economic impact on the state.
"I get so many calls from constituents that are fearful of dropping their kids off at school, dropping their kids off at daycare, going to church, because we know how aggressive the federal government is being right now," Murdock said.
