Appearing on ABC News, incoming North Carolina Governor Josh Stein, a Democrat, says he will have to “wait to see” whether North Carolina will cooperate with the Trump administration’s policies on mass deportation.
The Trump transition team wasted no time in naming key figures to spearhead border management and deportation efforts. Just days after his Election Night victory, Trump revealed his plan to appoint Tom Homan, who served as acting director of ICE during his first administration, as his border czar.
Stein says he is waiting to see specific plans and policies from the new administration before he responds.
“Well, one thing about President Trump is he says a lot and then you don’t know what the actual policy behind the bluster is going to be,” Stein told ABC News host Jonathan Karl. “And so I have to wait to see what he actually proposes as opposed to what he says through Twitter or any other social media platform.”
With the General Assembly’s override of HB 10 all sheriffs in North Carolina are required to cooperate with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Sheriffs now must notify ICE within 48 hours before the release of illegal aliens who are charged with crimes to allow for immigration enforcement to further detain and process the illegal aliens for deportation.
The Carolina Journal Poll in November found that 31.6% of voters considered immigration the most important issue in the general election.
Stein says he’s in agreement with deportations for criminals, but warns mass deportations of all illegal immigrants could have major economic impacts.
“If folks break the law and harm North Carolinians, they get deported as it is,” proclaimed Stein, despite facts surrounding select North Carolina sheriffs’ policies refusing to honor ICE detainer requests prior to HB10’s enactment. “Folks who are law-abiding, deporting them is not a priority at all. They are instrumental to our communities. They’re instrumental to our economy.”
President-elect Donald Trump (R) reiterated his commitment to mass deportations in a recent NBC News interview, stating that his administration will prioritize deporting violent criminals first.