My name is Veronica Aguilar, I grew up in Harnett County, and I work at El Pueblo based here in Raleigh, NC.
HB10 will not make North Carolina safer. Instead, this bill will interfere with decisions about local resources and priorities, expose sheriffs and counties to expensive lawsuits for constitutional violations, and weaken community trust in law enforcement.
By forcing sheriffs to collaborate with ICE, it will make people in our community distrust law enforcement even more and prefer not to report crimes or cooperate with police investigations for fear of deportation. It will make everyone less safe.
HB10 also raises serious legal questions because it will limit the constitutional rights of people detained in the state.
Sheriffs and prison officials in the state would be exposed to lawsuits for constitutional violations by holding people beyond the legal time established by the Constitution.
Those presumed innocent will be denied a meaningful opportunity to legally defend themselves, as they will be removed by ICE before they can prove their innocence in a court of law in our state.
I ask you, is this the kind of justice and security you want for North Carolina?
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