North Carolina sheriffs will now be required to comply and cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)as they seek to detain and deport migrants due to a recent law passed by the state's House and Senate.
Under the new law, law enforcement officers who can't determine if someone detained is a legal resident or citizen in the U.S., they must directly report them to ICE. Immigrants will be held up to 48 hours of the detainer being created, which only apply to those who are being held for felonies, class A1 misdemeanors and violations of "protective order."
The controversial bill, which takes effect on Dec. 1, part of the larger proposed measure HB 10, means that a large windfall of funding— about $463 million— will be provided to the Opportunity Scholarship program in part to eliminate a waitlist of families who otherwise qualified beginning in the fall for grants to attend private or religious K-12 schools.
The bill also states that state and local law enforcement cannot be held liable for following this law, or not following this law, a change that helped the North Carolina Sheriff's Association throw their support behind the legislation, according to the Gaston Gazette.
The state Senate voted to override Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of the legislation one day after the state House voted for the same thing. Republicans hold veto-proof majorities in both chambers, according to The Associated Press. This also isn't the first time that the GOP tried to pass the immigration provisions. In fact, they had been trying to pass similar laws since 2019, but were unable to because Republicans did not hold a veto-proof majority.
"A historic expansion of parental school choice is now a reality in North Carolina," Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina President Mike Long said after Wednesday's vote, adding that the legislature sent "a clear message that our state will continue to invest in students over time."
The bill's passage also comes days after President-elect Donald Trump announced he would declare a national emergency and use military assets to complete his mass deportation plans, which he promises will be the largest in "American history." State Republicans applauded the bill's approval.
"With House Bill 10 finally becoming law, and the Trump administration taking over in Washington, we're on the path toward a stronger border and safer United States," Senate Judiciary Committee Chairmen Sen. Danny Earl Britt, R-Robeson, Sen. Warren Daniel, R-Burke, and Buck Newton, R-Wilson, said in an email news release.
On the other hand, opponents of the bill, which include several Hispanic advocacy groups, said it will put immigrant communities in danger of being unfairly targeted by law enforcement.
"We will be working in the weeks to come to inform and prepare our community to face any challenges this new law will bring," North Carolina-based El Pueblo said after the final note while expressing its disappointment. "And next year, we will continue to fight for the rights of our immigrant community."
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