NC Republican lawmakers send immigration crackdown bill to governor

Yahoo

11-06-2025

Immigrant rights advocates call on North Carolinians to stand up against bills targeting undocumented immigrants in the state as part of an Immigrant Rights Advocacy Day on May 21, 2025.
North Carolina lawmakers gave final approval Tuesday to a bill cracking down on state immigration enforcement, sending it to Gov. Josh Stein's desk.
Senate Bill 153 requires state agencies to sign agreements cooperating with U.S. Immigrations Customs Enforcement (ICE). It bars undocumented immigrants from receiving state-funded benefits. And it opens local governments that have declared themselves 'sanctuaries' to lawsuits in crimes committed by undocumented immigrants.
Senators gave the bill final approval Tuesday, agreeing with changes by the House after previously passing it along party lines back in March.
'I think the people of North Carolina and the people of this nation want our immigration laws enforced,' Senate leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) said Tuesday. 'And I think what we have moved forward with are things that will enhance the ability of the federal authorities to enforce our nation's immigration laws.'
Stein, a Democrat, could veto the legislation. If he does, it would be the first of his term — and set up a narrow vote down the line when Republicans attempt to override it.
Senate Republicans have a solid veto-proof majority, but House Republicans are one vote short. Speaker Destin Hall (R-Caldwell) has previously touted a 'working supermajority,' saying there were several Democrats with whom he believes his caucus could swing for key override votes.
Democrats objected to passage of the bill Tuesday. Sen. Natalie Murdock (D-Chatham) called it 'heavy-handed government overreach.'
'This bill really is not about safety,' Murdock said. 'It's about intimidation. It's about fear-mongering.'
Shortly after the bill's passage, a group of around 30 protesters in the Senate gallery erupted and left the chamber.
'We will hold you accountable for the harm that you caused,' one woman shouted.
Tuesday's vote is the latest in a series of Republican-led efforts to ramp up immigration enforcement in North Carolina. And it comes with a national spotlight on deportation efforts by the Trump administration, as federal and state officials battle over jurisdiction in California and troops arrive in Los Angeles amid protests. Trump also visited North Carolina on Tuesday, speaking at Fort Bragg.
'The situation in LA is beyond a protest,' Berger told reporters Tuesday.
Last year's House Bill 10 required local sheriffs in North Carolina to require with ICE. A separate bill moving through the General Assembly aims to close what Republicans have said are 'loopholes' in the law.
That proposal, House Bill 318, continued to advance Tuesday. It passed the Senate, 26-17, over opposition from Democrats, and now heads to the House for final approval.