Charlotte lawmaker rebuked by fellow Democrats after speech on immigration bill
A Charlotte Democrat raised eyebrows and faced strong pushback within her party Tuesday after helping Republicans override Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s veto of a hotly debated immigration enforcement bill.
Rep. Carla Cunningham voted in favor of overriding Stein’s veto of House Bill 318, a bill spearheaded by Speaker Destin Hall that bolsters a major law enacted last year requiring sheriffs to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Cunningham delivered the crucial 72nd vote Republicans needed to successfully defeat Stein’s veto. Republicans control the necessary three-fifths majority in the Senate, but are one seat short in the House.
Ahead of Tuesday’s vote, Cunningham was expected to vote in favor of a veto override. She previously voted for the bill when it passed the House in June. During that debate, she notably spoke strongly in favor of the bill while several other Mecklenburg County Democrats spoke against the bill.
Cunningham also supported House Bill 10, the law dealing with sheriff Republicans enacted last year, and helped them override former Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of the bill in November.
What Carla Cunningham said about immigration
In a fiery speech on the House floor Tuesday morning that would later draw criticism from Democrats on social media and at the Legislative Building, Cunningham said she was going to share her “unapologetic truth” with fellow lawmakers.
“First, as a people, we need to recognize that it’s not just the numbers that matter, but also where the immigrants come from and the culture they bring with them to another country,” Cunningham said. “As the social scientists report, all cultures are not equal.”
“Some immigrants come and believe they can function in isolation, refusing to adapt,” she said. “They have come to our country for many reasons, but I suggest they must assimilate, adapt to the culture of the country they wish to live in. No country is going to allow people to come in and not acknowledge its constitution, legal systems, and laws. They will not tolerate it.”
Cunningham went on to say that the United States “has been more tolerant than most other countries” and has been “exploited and abused by the different tactics to gain citizenship in America.”
“Global migration in the past was not projected to be as it is today,” Cunningham said. “We must establish new rules to address a distinct type of migration that we are facing in our country, states, and cities. It’s time to turn the conveyor belt off and adopt a global migration suitable for the times that we’re in, and that is not destabilizing to our communities.”
“A large number of people entering a country can change it forever,” Cunningham said.
The Democrat proceeded to say she had “been degraded” for her votes in favor of stronger immigration enforcement, and “called racist” and “trash.”
Just then, Cunningham was interrupted as a few people watching the debate from the House gallery appeared to try to disrupt the debate by coughing loudly, prompting a rebuke from House Speaker Destin Hall, who urged onlookers in the gallery to observe the vote quietly.
After the vote, Cunningham declined to comment any further on the bill or her remarks when asked by The News & Observer.
Another Charlotte Democrat, Nasif Majeed, breaks with his party
Cunningham is one of a few House Democrats who are known for voting with Republicans more frequently than the rest of their party, particularly when it comes to contentious bills.
Another Charlotte Democrat, Rep. Nasif Majeed, broke with his party on Tuesday and was the decisive vote on the veto override of House Bill 805, a wide-ranging bill dealing with gender and sexuality in schools.
When asked about his vote after session, Majeed told reporters, “I had some moral issues and I had to lean on my values.”
Republicans enacted a total of eight bills that had been vetoed by Stein on Tuesday, and with each of those bills, secured support from at least one Democrat in the House to meet the required supermajority threshold. Some of the vetoed bills received support from multiple Democrats.
Senate Democratic leader calls Cunningham’s speech ‘an affront’
Speaking with reporters at the end of the day, top Democrats in the Senate slammed Cunningham’s comments.
Senate Democratic Leader Sydney Batch, of Wake County, called Cunningham’s remarks “ridiculous” and “absolutely uncalled for.”
“The very fact that you would say that not all people, or not all immigrants are equal, is just – one, it’s contrary to our Constitution. It’s contrary to how this country was formed. This country was formed because of Native Americans, Blacks that were enslaved, and immigrants, including every single person that was here other than Native Americans. And so to say that we are not equal goes and flies in the face of anything that a Democrat, in my opinion, believes and holds, near and dear. I don’t know why she said it. I don’t know what’s going on with her,” Batch told reporters after the Senate session on Tuesday.
Batch said that she 100% thinks that Cunningham “should be called out for that, and I’m calling her out directly, because I think that that is an affront to our democracy. That it’s an affront to every single person … who we are trying to build trust within our communities. It is not helpful. It is extremely dangerous rhetoric in times where people fly off the handle about anything.”
Batch also said that saying “immigrants are not created equally, and to decide that apparently, melanated immigrants are the dangerous ones, is an affront to me, and I think, to anybody else that has good sense.”
Batch said she hopes Cunningham will apologize.
‘Embarrassment for political leadership in Mecklenburg County’
Sen. Natalie Murdock, a Durham Democrat, said she has already heard from communities across the state who are “absolutely disgusted by those comments” and wants them to know that Senate Democrats did not vote that way, and that they do care.“
They do have support. And that’s what our party is about, bringing people in, not excluding people,” Murdock said.
Another Democrat from Charlotte, Sen. Caleb Theodros, responding to Cunningham’s remark that “all cultures are not equal,” said “that kind of thinking has no place in North Carolina.”
In a statement, Theodros noted that he is the son of immigrants “who fled war to build a life here” and said America’s strength “has always come from the mix — the clash and blend of cultures, histories, and ideas that form something bigger than any one of us.”
Theodros also said the notion that some cultures are “less than” was “divisive” and “dangerous.”
“It reveals a breathtaking misunderstanding of what actually makes America work,” he said. “These aren’t throwaway words. They insult immigrants. They insult Black families. They insult every community that’s fought to be seen, heard, and respected.”
Braxton Winston, the former Charlotte City Council member who unsuccessfully ran for N.C. labor commissioner last year, meanwhile called one of Cunningham’s comments “a foolish position.”
Winston was responding on social media to Cunningham saying, “If you ask me to line up behind another group of people to raise awareness about their plight, I unapologetically say no.”
In another post, Winston said, “Today is an embarrassment for political leadership in Mecklenburg County.”
This story was originally published July 29, 2025 at 6:27 PM.
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