State Senate panders with wasteful 'border protection' legislation
North Carolina Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) mingles on the Senate floor ahead of the legislative session's opening day on Jan. 8, 2025. (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)
The first time most people hear about a bill introduced by North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger entitled the 'Border Protection Act,' a lot of them think: 'Wait — are South Carolina or Virginia up to something?'
And as silly as that sounds, it's no sillier than the bill itself — which has nothing to do with state or national borders, but rather is the latest effort by a politician to pander to prejudice and irrational fears about immigration.
Not only would the bill force state law enforcement agencies to, among other things, run down the immigration status of everyone in their custody, it would mandate costly audits of numerous public programs to make sure no unauthorized immigrant is receiving a benefit — something that's already illegal.
The bottom line: This cynically labeled bill will impose expensive and wasteful new mandates on already overworked and understaffed agencies, while sowing more alienation and stress in the lives of thousands of good and hardworking men and women who clean our public restrooms, help build our homes and put food on our tables.
For NC Newsline, I'm Rob Schofield.
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Republicans focus on trans athletes in their early attacks against Jon Ossoff in Georgia
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But while Democrats are gearing up for a difficult re-election fight for Ossoff in a state Trump won narrowly in 2024, they think the issue will be drowned out by voters' concerns about the economy, particularly Trump's handling of it. Even so, it's an issue for which Democrats lack a consensus about how to respond to GOP broadsides, as prominent members of the party grapple with whether to embrace protecting the transgender community as part of their values, deflect the question, or come out against including transgender athletes in women's sports. Ossoff is the only Democratic incumbent defending a seat in a state Trump won last year, making him far-and-away the top target for Senate Republicans. Still, some Republicans admit that Ossoff will be difficult to beat, particularly now that Gov. Brian Kemp decided not to seek the seat. 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Push to raise Block Island ferry landing fees moves forward at R.I. State House
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