NC Republicans send immigration crackdown bills to Gov. Josh Stein’s desk
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Republican lawmakers backed two immigration bills, including expanding ICE cooperation.
- Legislation would mandate more immigration checks and benefit restrictions.
- Gov. Stein has not announced a veto; an override would need a Democrat's support.
As national protests break out against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s sweeping deportation raids, North Carolina lawmakers on Tuesday sent two bills to the governor’s desk that target unauthorized immigrants and mandate further state cooperation with ICE.
The wide-ranging bills would deputize some state law enforcement agencies to carry out immigration actions, ban immigrants from receiving state benefits if they are in the country illegally, and require sheriffs and prisons to notify ICE about suspected immigration violations in more circumstances.
Both passed the Senate 26-17 with Democrats united in opposing the proposals.
“This bill really is not about safety, it’s about intimidation,” Sen. Natalie Murdock, a Durham Democrat, said. “It’s about fear mongering, and it’s about targeting vulnerable people who come to North Carolina seeking a better life.”
Republicans, however, have championed the measures, saying the state needs to do more to aid the federal government’s immigration enforcement actions.
“I think the people of North Carolina and the people of this nation want our immigration laws enforced,” Senate leader Phil Berger told reporters after the vote. “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.”
Democratic Gov. Josh Stein has not said whether he will veto the proposals, both of which are likely to head to his desk soon.
“The governor will continue to review the bill,” a spokesperson for his office said. “He has made clear that if someone commits a crime and they are here illegally, they should be deported.”
If Stein does veto the bills, Republicans would have to gain the support of at least one Democrat in the House to override his rejection.
Democratic Rep. Carla Cunningham voted in favor of one of the measures, House Bill 318, on Tuesday — making her the only member of her party do so.
Ahead of Tuesday’s vote, protesters demonstrated against the bills outside the legislature, saying they contributed to a campaign of fear against immigrants stoked by the Trump administration.
“I’m seeing our immigrant communities being terrorized and it’s unnecessary,” Karen Ziegler, a protester, said ahead of the vote. “These are people that have been living around us, working, performing critical functions, paying taxes. This is not OK, what’s happening now. People being snatched off the streets, people being flown and transported to concentration camps in this country and in other countries. It’s so wrong and I don’t understand why the General Assembly wants to support this slide into fascism.”
Tuesday’s votes come as the Trump administration ramps up its efforts to respond to anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles, sending in the National Guard and Marines in a dramatic escalation of tensions.
What exactly do the bills do?
Both pieces of legislation significantly expand the state’s responsibilities to cooperate with ICE.
Senate Bill 153 would require four state law enforcement agencies to participate in the federal 287(g) program, which allows state officers to carry out immigration actions usually done by federal agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Officers from the state departments of Public Safety and Adult Correction, the State Highway Patrol and the State Bureau of Investigation — executive agencies which are overseen by Democratic Gov. Josh Stein — would all be required to carry out ICE functions.
The other bill, HB 318, would require sheriffs to notify ICE before releasing anyone in their custody with a detainer, or detention request, from the agency. A law passed last year requires the affected person to be kept in confinement an additional 48 hours to give ICE time to potentially retrieve them, but the new bill aims to ensure immigration officials are notified.
Senate Democratic Leader Sydney Batch attempted to amend the bill with what she called a “victims’ rights” provision which would ensure that victims of violent crimes could request that the person charged in their case be tried in court before ICE carries out any immigration actions.
Without her amendment, Batch said the bill would be “amnesty for criminals.”
“It’s going to allow someone to come into North Carolina, to seriously injure, rape, murder or harm someone, and does not allow the victim or the victim’s family to come before a court to ask for that individual to be tried (and) held accountable to our rules,” she said.
Republicans set aside her proposal without debating it.
HB 318 would also require sheriffs to attempt to determine the immigration status of anyone charged with a felony or drunk driving. Previous legislation narrowed this requirement to only people charged with high-level violent crimes.
Cooperation with ICE isn’t the only factor in the legislation passed Tuesday.
SB 153 would also direct state agencies to ensure unauthorized immigrants do not receive a variety of state-funded benefits, such as housing assistance or unemployment.
Another portion of the bill would allow local governments that approve what it describes as sanctuary policies for immigrants to be sued if a person in the country without legal authorization commits a crime in their jurisdiction.
This story was originally published June 10, 2025 at 7:09 PM with the headline "NC Republicans send immigration crackdown bills to Gov. Josh Stein’s desk."
