The Govenor’s veto of SB153 was overriden by the NC state legislature today.
RALEIGH, NC.- The state House of Representatives voted today to override Governor Josh Stein’s veto and enact anti-immigrant legislation, SB153, into law which will require various state law enforcement agencies to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to track down and detain immigrants in North Carolina.
Following the vote, 71 in favor and 47 against, the nonpartisan organization El Pueblo, which advocates for the rights of Latine immigrants in the state, issued the following public statement:
“SB153 is a blatant anti-immigrant attack driven purely by political motives. This law will put various state law enforcement agencies, such as the Highway Patrol, at the service of the federal administration’s mass deportation campaign, rather than fulfilling their primary mission of protecting and serving the entire North Carolina community.
This legislation has nothing to do with public safety; it merely seeks to persecute, terrorize, and criminalize immigrants, creating even more fear and uncertainty in a vulnerable community that has already been devastated by the cruel and abusive operations carried out in the state by the Border Patrol last November.
As we saw in our community survey last year, collaboration between local law enforcement agencies and ICE exacerbates the widespread fear in our communities, leading to a dangerous self-isolation among immigrants and their families, who not only avoid leaving their homes as much as possible but also refrain from seeking help or reporting crimes or abuses—which ultimately makes us all less safe.
Here at El Pueblo, we condemn the decision by members of the House of Representatives who put their political interests ahead of the people of North Carolina, but we will continue to organize and empower the Latine immigrant community to stand up for themselves, make their voices heard, and hold those who have turned their backs on them today accountable.”
