Democratic representatives form new caucus, focus on limiting immigration enforcement
The first, House Bill 78, would ban law enforcement from any immigration raids at schools, places of worship, or hospitals.
'Imagine a woman in a Temple praying for a peaceful and better life when unexpectedly, individuals armed with deadly weapons take her away without notice to her family,' Democratic Representative Renee Price said.
Sponsors of the bill say they're already expecting no more movement on the bill.
It's the same story for House Bill 80.
'This bill would prohibit local law enforcement from engaging in immigration enforcement at work sites, ensuring that our farms and constructions remain places of productivity,' Democratic Representative Deb Butler said.
Research shows around 325,000 undocumented people live in North Carolina. Supporters of these bills say without them, the state's economy will crumble.
'Of the total number of undocumented people, at least 220,000 are workers and are equivalent to 4.3% of the total workforce in North Carolina,' Mario Alfaro with El Pueblo said.
The vast majority of those undocumented workers work in construction. About 35% of construction workers are undocumented. Sponsors of House Bill 80 say if those workers are scared of being targeted at work, they simply won't work.
'North Carolina's economy depends on agriculture and construction, those are industries that rely on a steady, dedicated workforce,' Representative Butler said.
While there's little to no confidence in either bill progressing, House Democrats are forming a new caucus called Progress Now, where they say the fight continues.
'Our name comes from two needs, the needs for progressive policy, and the needs for urgency and timeliness,' Democratic Representative Marcia Morey said. 'There are people in our state who need help now. Not tomorrow, not next week.'
This week Senator Phil Berger introduced a bill that directs local law enforcement to comply completely with any ICE regulations. Democrats today say they're hopeful the Senate will abandon that bill.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
a few seconds ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Alert: California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs legislation setting November election on US House map designed to boost Democrats
SACRAMENTO, Calif (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs legislation setting November election on US House map designed to boost Democrats.
a few seconds ago
Rep. Pete Aguilar on California's response to Texas redistricting
The California Senate and State Assembly are considering a package of bills this week pushed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom that would tee up a special election this fall.
New York Post
a few seconds ago
- New York Post
Trump caught Democrats in a trap — torn by their Medicaid lies
This week, President Donald Trump officially launched his push to remove illegal aliens from state Medicaid rolls by cross-checking them against federal databases, a move that's sure to send Democrats running to the courts yet again. But when it comes to illegal immigrants and welfare, Democrats have a serious problem — and it's not just their continuing slide in favorability. It's that they just can't make up their minds about whether or not those here illegally are receiving federal Medicaid dollars at all. Advertisement When Congress was debating Trump's One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, one of the left's oft-repeated refrains was that there was no need to ban illegal aliens from Medicaid's rolls — because giving them its benefits was already against the law. They conveniently forgot to mention the 12 states that explicitly expanded non-emergency Medicaid coverage to illegal immigrants, and the other gaping loopholes being exploited nationwide. But in June, Trump made a move that forced Democrats drop the act and show their hand: His Health and Human Services Department began sharing Medicaid data from four states and Washington, DC, with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Advertisement Cue the outrage. Within days California Attorney General Rob Bonta, New York AG Letitia James and 19 other blue states filed suit in federal court to block the data-sharing — and gave up the game in the process. Democrats love to lie in the court of public opinion — but in a courtroom, you've got to tell the truth. And by suing to stop Team Trump, they practically confessed: Illegal aliens are on Medicaid, and blue states are desperate to keep it that way. Advertisement Since then HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (or CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz have doubled down, expanding their partnership with ICE to include nationwide Medicaid data. To help their effort, Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Tex.) demanded that Gov. Kathy Hochul cough up the data on Medicaid-receiving illegal immigrants in the Empire State, citing her legal obligations to regularly report enrollment and eligibility data to the federal government. The Democrats' lawsuits continue their track record of fighting beyond the limits of their power to protect illegal aliens — in this case by keeping their Medicaid data 'safe' — while endangering law-abiding Americans. Their claims that no illegal aliens take advantage of Medicaid benefits also fly in the face of Medicaid's own records. Advertisement Between 2021 and 2023, taxpayers spent at least $16 billion on emergency services for illegal immigrants, CMS has reported, with federal taxpayers covering more than 70% of those costs. Get opinions and commentary from our columnists Subscribe to our daily Post Opinion newsletter! Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters When you add in the billions likely spent on non-emergency services in direct circumvention of federal law, the total figure of Medicaid resources going to illegal aliens is incalculable — an enormous transfer of wealth from Americans to non-citizens who shouldn't be here at all. Welfare benefits like Medicaid have been some of the strongest magnets spurring mass migration into this country and encouraging people to illegally stay. Halting those perks, as Trump and Republicans in Congress are rightly doing, will do much to turn the magnet off. Stealing from Medicaid is especially grievous because the program is intended to help America's most vulnerable, including low-income children and people with disabilities. When illegal aliens or other ineligible people take Medicaid, they not only suck up taxpayer resources, they reroute precious resources from legitimate Medicaid recipients who already have to compete for a limited pool of providers. It's downright despicable — yet Democrats in Congress and in at least 20 blue states seem more than happy to run interference to ensure that it continues. Advertisement Some Democrats are begging for their party to moderate after November's resounding defeat. Some — like New York City primary voters — are sprinting further to the left. If they want to appeal to the majority of voters in the coming midterms, though, they need to get their Medicaid stories straight. Advertisement More important, they need to get their priorities straight. Instead of robbing from taxpayers to give to law-breakers, Democrats should protect Medicaid for the Americans who truly need it. They could do that by following the lead of Republicans like Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana, who just signed a law referring illegal aliens fraudulently receiving welfare to ICE so they can be deported. If Democrats can't make up their minds about illegal aliens and welfare, the American people will make up their minds about the Democrats — and keep rejecting them at the ballot box. Hayden Dublois is the Data and Analytics Director for the Foundation for Government Accountability.
