This week, NC House Democrats stood together to oppose SB 153– a right-wing bill that would burden local law enforcement, infringe on the rights of local governments, and further empower ICE to perform unconstitutional raids on North Carolina communities.
The Republican legislation is wide-ranging, but its most notable provision is that it forces state agencies to cooperate with the Trump administration to enforce immigration policy as carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE has recently faced criticism over its deportation of legal residents and US citizens, resulting in separated families and disrupted communities.
The bill passed 60-46 after a heated debate, with Democrats saying it would contribute to a culture of fear among immigrants. Not a single Democrat voted in favor of the legislation.
“Who is this bill protecting?” said Rep. Deb Butler, a New Hanover County Democrat. “Not the children who are afraid their parents aren’t going to come home. Not the sheriffs who need discretion to keep trust within their communities intact. Not the farm worker who’s feeding us, but too afraid to seek medical care.”
In addition to requiring further cooperation with ICE, SB 153 would direct state agencies to ensure non-citizens do not receive a variety of state-funded benefits.
Democrats noted that undocumented immigrants are already ineligible for most state and federal benefit programs. Others worried that the legislation could affect the children of undocumented immigrants who, as citizens, are eligible for certain benefit programs, but whose parents may fear deportation if they sign them up.
Another portion of the bill would allow local governments to be sued if an undocumented person commits a crime in their jurisdiction.
Rep. Charles Smith, a Cumberland County Democrat, said this would be an unprecedented expansion of liability for local governments and would unfairly hold them responsible for the actions of others.
“I think we have to have some restraint and honor a limited government idea,” he said. “Allow local folks to make decisions, to govern for themselves.”
SB 153 comes a year after Republican lawmakers enacted a law forcing county sheriffs to cooperate with ICE. At the time, Rep. Carla Cunningham, a Mecklenburg County Democrat, broke with her party to support that bill, but she said on Wednesday that SB 153 goes too far and will harm innocent people. “Today I’m going to draw a line in the sand,” Rep. Cunningham said.
The legislation comes as the Trump administration is using its immigration policy to challenge several constitutional precedents. Over the last few months, Trump has attempted to unilaterally end birthright citizenship through executive order and willfully ignored court orders meant to check his deportations of lawful residents.
As a result, ICE agents have deported US citizens and legal residents, including working parents and sick children. The Trump administration mistakenly sent a father and legal resident to a Salvadoran prison for terrorists, and intentionally deported a US citizen and a 4-year-old boy with Stage 4 cancer to Honduras. Most recently, they sent a US citizen to Mexico, an 11-year-old girl who was undergoing treatment for a brain tumor.
While a previous version of SB 153 already passed the Senate, the bill will have to go back to the chamber for a concurrence vote before it goes to the governor’s desk.
