Coalition urges Gov. Cooper to veto HB 10 amid education and immigration concerns

Public education and immigrant rights groups called on Gov. Roy Cooper Wednesday to veto a bill that would expand private school voucher funding and force local sheriffs to aid ICE officials in immigrant deportation. (Photo: Galen Bacharier)

A coalition of about 200 public education and immigrant rights organizations delivered a letter today to Gov. Roy Cooper urging him to veto House Bill 10 , a multi-part bill recently passed by the Republican-led legislature that funds North Carolina’s private school voucher program for the next decade and requires state sheriffs to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“This bill would take money from our local public schools, giving it to unaccountable private schools and the wealthiest North Carolina families and impose onto sheriffs and local police departments mandates to tear apart immigrant families,” the coalition’s letter said.

The bill, which passed last week, is the result of months of negotiations among GOP leaders that followed their failure to reach an agreement before recessing the legislative session at the end of June.

In addition to appropriating funds to clear the waitlist of 54,000 students seeking vouchers, the bill — which GOP sponsors characterized as a “mini-budget” — also allocates money for programs favored by Democrats, including Medicaid, rural internet infrastructure, and enrollment growth in schools.

“The mini-budget strengthens our commitment to school choice for all NC families as well as public education, with historic investments in enrollment growth for both K-12 public schools and our community colleges,” House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) said.

“Furthermore, thanks to language requiring sheriffs to cooperate with ICE, North Carolina will also be better equipped to weather the Biden-Harris illegal immigration crisis at our southern border and protect our communities.”

Gov. Cooper, a Democrat, has until Saturday to take action on the package. He and other Democrats have expressed strong opposition to the voucher program, calling on lawmakers to “use this money for public schools instead.”

Republicans hold a supermajority in the North Carolina General Assembly, which has allowed them to override all of Cooper’s previous vetoes this year.

The advocates’ letter criticizes Republican lawmakers over the state’s failure to fully fund the Leandro plan, a court-ordered blueprint that aims to adequately fund the state’s K-12 schools so that they comply with a constitutional mandate to provide every child in the state access to a “sound basic education.”

“Our government has a duty to provide equal access to education and protection for all. This latest budget scheme contradicts the needs of North Carolinians students and their families, from all backgrounds,” the letter said.

The letter also raises constitutional concerns about the requirement to require local sheriffs cooperate with ICE. Some sheriffs have previously stated that forcing them to hold someone otherwise entitled to release without a court order and merely upon a request from ICE is unconstitutional.