North Carolina to override Dem veto calling for cooperation with ICE while Trump calls for agency reform

GOP North Carolina legislators are poised to overrule outgoing Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s block on legislation mandating local law enforcement agencies cooperate with ICE, but Democrats narrowly ended the GOP’s veto-proofing supermajority for next session.

The news comes as President-elect Trump’s pick for “border czar,” former ICE Director Thomas Homan. has signaled agreement with mass deportation and other stringent enforcement operations.

Legislation that would require state-federal cooperation has languished for five years, and the GOP’s ability to continue its pattern of overriding the executive branch may soon end.

Raleigh Republicans appear to have lost their three-fifths grip by one seat after last week’s election but retained it in the Senate. The governorship will remain in Democratic hands with current Attorney General Joshua Stein succeeding Cooper.

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Texas National Guard troops watch over more than 1,000 immigrants who crossed the Rio Grande overnight from Mexico Dec. 18, 2023. (John Moore/Getty)

A top Republican in the state House who is favored to succeed U.S. Rep-elect Timothy Moore as speaker, said the veto override will be taken up Tuesday.

State Rep. Destin Hall, R-Lenoir, previously said some criticism of the bill was “factually incorrect,” adding it only applies to people who committed “serious felonies … or violent misdemeanors” and that it will not prompt law enforcement to actively seek out illegal immigrants.

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The bill includes both the ICE provision and additional funds for school vouchers. In his September veto statement, Cooper only referenced the school choice provision.

However, after he vetoed duplicate legislation in the 2022 session, Cooper said the policy is “only about scoring political points and using fear to divide North Carolinians.”

US-64 enters North Carolina from Tennessee near Hothouse, and a sign denotes the long drive across the state to the Outer Banks. (Charlie Creitz)

“As the state’s former top law enforcement officer, I know that current law already allows the state to incarcerate and prosecute dangerous criminals regardless of immigration status,” Cooper said, calling the bill unconstitutional and a misuse of local resources. 

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., responded by saying Cooper effectively declared North Carolina a sanctuary state.

Fox News Digital reached out to Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Reidsville, for further comment on the plan. A call to Cooper’s office was not returned.

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The North Carolina branch of the ACLU also slammed the bill, saying it “circumvents the local authority of sheriffs by requiring them to cooperate with ICE and assist in the federal government’s deportation pipeline.

“HB10 will not make our communities safer,” the group said in a statement.

Berger previously said other work in the upcoming legislative session “beyond the override… has not been determined,” according to The Raleigh News-Observer.

During the last Trump administration, some law enforcement in the Tar Heel State bucked Trump’s overtures, and Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden ended the Charlotte-area jurisdiction’s “287(g)” agreement with ICE, according to The Charlotte Observer.

Additionally, sheriffs in Wilson, Asheville, Durham and Hillsborough publicly objected to the bill when it was first proposed.

A statement from the consortium of lawmen obtained by WNCN said it was concerned it “will jeopardize their ability to fulfill their local duties and set a dangerous precedent for overstepping local authority.”

Homan told Fox News Monday that if places like New York City won’t offer assistance, he’ll double the number of federal agents there.

“We’re going to do the job with you or without you,” he said. 

Republicans will retain their supermajority for the brief, four-day session next week.

When they return in 2025, one Democrat would have to cross the aisle to kill any Stein veto.