EL PUEBLO APPLAUDS GOVERNOR’S VETO, URGES LEGISLATORS TO RESPECT IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES

Contacts:

Angeline Echeverría | Executive Director | angeline@elpueblo.org, Moises Serrano | Political Director | moises@elpueblo.org

Raleigh, NC—El Pueblo applauds Governor Cooper’s veto of HB 370, a bill that would force sheriffs to collaborate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and urges legislators to demonstrate respect for immigrant communities in their debates and actions on public policies.

            We are grateful to Governor Cooper for vetoing HB 370 and refusing to be convinced by the divisive and misleading language that has been used over the course of the debate on this bill. Instead of recognizing the dignity and humanity of those who fall out of status under our immensely unjust immigration system, the sponsors and supporters of this bill chose to paint all undocumented community members with a broad brush, using terms like ‘illegal,’ ‘dangerous’, and ‘criminals’ to incite fear and mistrust of our fellow North Carolinians. The rhetoric used at the General Assembly and in the media has sent a message that certain people are to be feared. It aligns well with the type of white supremacist belief system that led to the mass shooting in El Paso and other incidents of hate speech, violence, and criminalization against immigrants and people of color across North Carolina and the US. El Pueblo urges all legislators who oppose these racist and degrading stereotypes to sustain Governor Cooper’s veto, and to recognize that this bill only serves to undermine the will of voters who have elected sheriffs with the goal of creating a safer, more welcoming environment.

            El Pueblo also expressed gratitude for the overwhelming opposition to this bill coordinated by the Stop HB370 Coalition, as well as the more than 100 grassroots, local, state, and national organizations that have urged North Carolina lawmakers to oppose this bill:

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