North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper is the latest target of criticism from the Twitter account of President Donald Trump.
Trump tweeted on Saturday his opposition to Cooper’s veto this week of a bill that would require North Carolina sheriffs to honor requests by federal immigration agents to hold inmates believed to be in the country illegally, even if they had otherwise met the requirements to be released from custody.
Cooper vetoed House Bill 370 just one day after Republican lawmakers approved the final version.
The bill originated after several sheriffs won elections last November while pledging to end the practice of honoring ICE detainer requests. The detainers are placed on inmates who federal officials want to take custody of due to immigration status.
Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood has not honored these detainer requests in the past, saying that keeping individuals in custody after they have met the requirements for release – either by serving their sentence or posting bail – is unconstitutional. ICE detainer requests ask local officials to hold the individual for an additional 48 hours.
Blackwood said in a statement regarding HB370 that the bill would “strip Sheriffs of their authority to decide whether to honor detainer requests.” He added that, in his opinion, there were “four major flaws in the proposed legislation.”
GOP elected officials contended the bill is aimed at public safety after there have been high-profile assault cases where ICE took a person into custody after being released from a county jail. Democratic opponents contend the bill would hurt public safety because local law enforcement has been able to build a relationship with all residents in the community, regardless of their immigration status.
The General Assembly could attempt to override the veto, but the measure did not initially pass the House or Senate with veto-proof majorities that would be needed.
North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis echoed Trump’s comments on Twitter Saturday within moments of the president’s tweet.
A recent survey from Public Policy Polling found Cooper with a 48-33 approval rating in North Carolina, while residents of the Tar Heel State disapprove of the job Trump is doing by a 52-45 margin.
Tillis is up for election in 2020 and the general election is expected to be one of the most closely watched contests in the country. But first Tillis will have to win a primary where businessman Garland Tucker’s campaign is touting gains on the incumbent senator.
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