Trump tweet criticizes Cooper veto that would have forced NC sheriffs to honor ICE detainers

State lawmakers on Tuesday approved House Bill 370, controversial legislation that would require police and sheriffs to check everyone they arrest against the federal immigration database and, if requested, to hold them on detainer for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Bill sponsors have said the proposal is designed to protect public safety, citing cases where people in the U.S. illegally who have been charged with crimes commit more crimes after being released from jail on bond, including a case in Mecklenburg County last week.

"If these sheriffs won't do all they can to protect the citizens of their counties, they ought to resign," said bill sponsor Rep. Destin Hall , R-Caldwell. "The citizens of this state deserve public safety, and if these sheriffs won't give it to them, we will."

But Cooper vetoed the measure less than 24 hours after the House signed off on it, saying, "This legislation is simply about scoring partisan political points and using fear to divide North Carolina. As the former top law enforcement officer of our state, I know that current law allows the state to jail and prosecute dangerous criminals regardless of immigration status."

Dozens of businesses and organizations from across the state had expressed opposition to the bill, including Replacements Ltd., Quest Diagnostics, North Carolina Child, the NAACP, the North Carolina Council of Churches and the YWCA.

It remains to be seen how Cooper and North Carolina lawmakers will respond now that Trump has weighed in via social media.

"He should reverse his decision and get back to the basics of fighting crime," Trump tweeted.

Leaders of the world's biggest democracies are meeting this weekend in the southern French resort town of Biarritz to discuss a host of issues affecting the planet.

Trump's tweet about Cooper's veto is part of a series of events over the past 48 hours that have shaken Washington, D.C., and the world, including a series of Trump tweets on Friday that criticized China, the Federal Reserve chairman, and ordered American businesses to curtail their operations in China.

Stock markets posted steep losses on Friday after China and Trump slapped new tariffs on the other as part of an ongoing dispute on trade.