North Carolina House Rep. Carla Cunningham of Mecklenburg County was the only Democrat on Tuesday to vote in favor of tougher immigration rules and increased cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
House Bill 318 would require sheriffs to hold undocumented inmates for 48 hours past their scheduled release and notify ICE two hours before an inmate is released.
Cunningham said she voted in favor of the bill because she believes some sheriffs are not following current law. She also has public safety concerns.
“No country in the entire world has open borders, and by us, the United States, taking in the illegals, it certainly impacts the poverty level, it impacts the finances and the economy, it also impacts the crime level," Cunningham said in an interview with WFAE.
Cunningham said open borders help bring fentanyl into the country, and undocumented immigrants entering the country exacerbate the problem.
“If they're illegal, they are living here and that is breaking the law," Cunningham said. “The expectation seems to be that the law is applicable to a certain group. No, the law is applicable to everybody.”
Cunningham favors more cooperation between ICE and sheriff's offices. She was one of two House Democrats who helped overturn Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of a bill requiring such cooperation, which became law in December.
“One of the things people need to understand is just because I'm African American or just because I'm a Democrat, we’re not monolithic in our thoughts," Cunningham said.
House Bill 318 is now in the hands of the Senate. If it passes, Gov. Josh Stein will likely veto the bill. Cunningham said she hasn’t come to a final decision on whether she would vote to override that veto as well.
