North Carolina bill compelling sheriffs to aid ICE advances as first major bill this year

By MAKIYA SEMINERA
Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A House bill that directs North Carolina sheriffs to comply with requests by federal agents interested in picking up jail inmates they believe are in the country has picked up steam again. A Senate judiciary committee approved an updated version of the bill Tuesday. Several people who spoke in the hearing voiced concern the bill could be harmful to immigrants in North Carolina. But Republican bill backers say it’s about protecting communities from crime. Similar measures approved by the General Assembly in 2019 and 2022 were successfully vetoed by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. But now there are Republican supermajorities in both legislative chambers.