North Carolina sheriffs will be forced to cooperate more with federal immigration authorities and a $463.5 million expansion of vouchers for private-school students was approved after the North Carolina Senate voted Wednesday to override a bill vetoed by Gov. Roy Cooper. The measures were a part of House Bill 10, which Cooper vetoed in September.
The Republican-led Senate overrode Cooper’s veto by a vote of 30-19 a day after the Republican-led House of Representatives did the same.
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Overriding the veto means the state’s Opportunity Scholarship program will have $463.5 million more to give out in private-school vouchers this year and next year, on top of the $293 million available already this school year. About 54,000 students are on the wait list for the program, which currently serves about 37,000 students.
House Bill 10 also forces sheriffs to work more closely with federal immigration officials to detain people who are in the U.S. illegally in some circumstances.
Under the new law, county sheriffs need to hold in detention anyone who is in the U.S. illegally, if federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement requests it. Most North Carolina sheriffs do this already, but some — including those in Wake, Durham and Orange counties — have argued it’s unconstitutional to hold someone once they’ve made bail.
The vote comes amid a broader conversation nationally about immigration enforcement.
President-elect Donald Trump beat Vice President Kamala Harris while making immigration a lynchpin of his campaign, casting Harris and President Joe Biden as weak on enforcement.
Trump has said he would conduct the largest deportation operation in American history, which could upend the lives of the 11 million people living in the United States without authorization — many of whom have family members who are U.S. citizens.
Opportunity Scholarship expansion
House Bill 10 would clear the wait list to use a voucher to attend a private school. Some students are already attending a private school, but without the tuition voucher.
The program provides checks of up to about $7,500 to a private school when they enroll a family that has applied and receive a voucher to attend it. Higher-income families receive smaller amounts.
Cooper and other critics argue that it will hurt schools — especially rural ones. Public schools lose funding for every student who opts out of the public school and into a private school instead, because public schools are funded by headcount. Schools’ operating costs won’t change just because a few students leave, but they’ll end up with less money to cover them, critics say.
Supporters of HB10 say it’s possible for the state to have a well-funded public school system and robust school choice options.
The expansion of the voucher program has prompted supporters and opponents to acknowledge that public schools sometimes don’t provide everything a family wants or needs from a school. But those people are split over whether to provide an immediate out for some families who feel that way or to invest in improving the conditions of the public schools so that people don’t feel that way.
That Republican lawmakers voted to approve significantly more funding for vouchers during the votes Tuesday and Wednesday than they did for Helene relief drew criticism from Democrats.
Immigration enforcement changes
House Bill 10 also expands the list of alleged crimes under which law enforcement agencies are required to look into a detainees immigration status. That now includes felonies and more serious misdemeanors, such as assault or violation of a violence protective order.
Republicans said the changes are needed to protect public safety, while Democrats said they’ll shouldering sheriffs with more responsibility without providing them more funding.