A group of Hispanic elected officials from across the state and the Governor’s Hispanic and Latino Affairs Advisory Committee called on Gov. Josh Stein to veto anti-immigrant bills HB318 and SB153 passed by the state Legislature.
“We write to urge you to veto SB 153, and HB 318, two bills that will criminalize our neighbors, misuse and abuse our state resources in service of advancing chaos and further dividing our communities.,” reads the letter signed by 15 Hispanic elected officials from different cities across the state.
HB318 expands the scope of state law HB10 of 2024 that requires all sheriffs in the state to cooperate with ICE. The reform adds more crimes that trigger the verification of the immigration status of detainees, extends the time they must be held and requires ICE to be notified before releasing them.
SB153 directs state law enforcement agencies, including the Highway Patrol, to collaborate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
In addition, it penalizes cities or counties that fail to comply with state law that prohibits sanctuary policies in the state, provides for the review of state social programs to ensure that no undocumented immigrants receive those benefits, and orders state universities to turn over student information to ICE.
“Many of us serve at the local level and these bills will be especially punitive against local Governments that fail to comply with anti-sanctuary ordinances. As local elected officials, our duty is to safeguard the resources of our communities, complying with these bills would be in direct conflict to that duty,” the letter from the elected officials reads.
The letter was signed by Carrboro Councilman Eliazar Posada, Durham Councilman Javier Caballero, Mecklenburg Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board member Elizabeth Monterrey, among others.
For its part, the governor’s Advisory Council on Hispanic and Latino Affairs met on Monday and its 40 members decided to send a letter to Stein asking him to veto the two bills.
“While the Council agrees that keeping all North Carolinians safe is a top priority, none of these bills advance the public safety of our communities,” the Council members said in their letter. “We strongly urge you to veto them, as they will have significant consequences for immigrant communities and for all of North Carolina.”
In the letter, they argue that the bills would damage the relationship of trust between the immigrant community and local law enforcement, create fear and discourage victims and witnesses of crimes from collaborating with the police, and would deprive many families, especially U.S. children of immigrants, of key state aid.
