Republicans in North Carolina plan to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of an immigration and school choice bill in their closing days of session.
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.
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.
