Raleigh. The state legislature gave final approval to two anti-immigrant bills that seek to expand state collaboration with the federal government’s efforts to detain and deport undocumented immigrants.
Bills SB153 and HB318, sponsored by Republican majority leaders, passed quickly Tuesday during a frenetic legislative session and are now in the hands of Democratic Gov. Josh Stein.
Stein, who has not yet veto any bills since taking office in January, has 10 days to sign or veto those proposals that were heavily criticized by Democrats during legislative debates.
SB153, sponsored by Senate leader Phil Berger, a Republican, seeks to force four state law enforcement agencies, including the state Highway Patrol, to collaborate with Immigration Enforcement (ICE).
In addition, it directs state agencies to create mechanisms to ensure that no undocumented immigrant receives public benefits, punishes local governments that protect immigrants, and prohibits universities from refusing to share information with ICE or preventing them from accessing campuses.
HB318, sponsored by House Speaker Destin Hall, a Republican, expands and tightens the provisions of last year’s HB10 anti-immigrant law that requires all sheriffs to cooperate with ICE and hold undocumented immigrants detained for very serious crimes for deportation purposes.
The legislation expands the list of crimes that trigger collaboration with ICE, extends the length of time defendants must be held, and requires sheriffs to notify the federal agency before releasing them.
PRESSURE ON THE GOVERNOR
Following the passage of both bills, Republican leaders in the Legislature urged Stein to sign them.
“North Carolina is one step closer to increasing the safety of every citizen in the state,” Berger said in a statement. “The Republican-led General Assembly made it clear that harboring criminal illegal aliens will not be tolerated in our state. It’s time for Gov. Josh Stein to show North Carolinians that he stands with them and supports the rule of law by swiftly signing this bill.”
“My bill, The Criminal Illegal Alien Enforcement Act (HB318), is now on the Governor’s desk.”, Hall wrote on X. “It’s simple: if you’re here illegally and commit a crime, you should be deported. Gov. Stein must sign this bill and stand with law-abiding North Carolinians.”
Democrats have been highly critical of both bills during legislative debates, warning that Republicans have gone too far in their eagerness to expand the state’s collaboration with ICE in order to support President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.
How far are we going to expand it now? Are we going to expand it to require any employer, public or private, to cooperate with ICE, to allow them to enter their workplace, to their farm, to allow them to enter the hospital so that they can be deported immediately regardless of whether they have committed any crime? Because of their status?” said Durham Rep. Marcia Morey, during the final debate on HB318.
“That’s where our country is going. And then are we going to have a bill to require the governor invoke the National Guard according to the wishes of the President? This is what’s happening in this country and that’s what I’m worried about. How far are we going to go?.”, she added.
Democrats insisted that both bills are not about public safety, but about a deliberate attack on the immigrant community.
“This bill is not about security. It’s about intimidation, creating fear, and attacking vulnerable people who come to North Carolina in search of a better life,” said Senator Natalie Murdock, during the final debate of SB153.
Dozens of people also filled the Senate galleries on Tuesday and held peaceful protests outside the legislative building against these two anti-immigrant bills.
Nonprofit organizations that advocate for immigrant rights, including El Pueblo and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), have rejected these bills and called on Governor Stein to veto them.
If Stein vetoes the bills, Republicans will need the support of at least one Democrat in the House of Representatives to override the governor’s veto, something they could have in the case of HB318, since Mecklenburg Democratic lawmaker Carla Cunninham voted in favor of that proposal on every vote.
If Stein does not take any action on the bills within 10 days, they will automatically become law.
