NC House GOP urges Cooper to send National Guard to Texas to help with border security

Republicans in the state House are urging Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper to take action to help Texas respond to the surge in illegal border crossings, including by sending members of the North Carolina National Guard to assist the state with its efforts.

During a news conference Wednesday, Speaker Tim Moore said the entire House GOP Caucus had sent Cooper a letter calling on him to express support for Texas in its ongoing dispute with the Biden administration over border security, and deploy additional North Carolina guardsmen to the southern border.

Around 125 North Carolina guardsmen are already assigned to Texas, and are working under federal border patrol officials, Moore said. Those guardsmen should be directed to work with state authorities as well, he said, as opposed to “ineffectual” federal authorities.

Moore — who is running for Congress in a GOP-leaning Charlotte-area district — said House Republicans were calling on Cooper to provide state resources to help Texas because the federal government “has just willfully abandoned its duty to protect the sovereignty of our nation,” and because inadequate border security has had an impact in North Carolina.

In particular, Moore cited the thousands of deaths in North Carolina in recent years at the hand of illicit fentanyl, the trafficking of which through the southern border federal officials have struggled to stop, and which state health authorities estimated was involved in 77% of overdose deaths in 2021.

“While Texas may be the direction folks are coming in, North Carolina is now essentially a border state,” Moore said. “Because the folks don’t just stay in Texas, they move all over the country.”

Republicans across the country have been campaigning on border security and criticizing Biden for the increase in illegal immigration.

The border security dispute between Texas and federal officials, and a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court last week in particular that cleared the way for federal authorities to remove razor wire the state installed at a portion of the border near Eagle Pass, have prompted Republicans across the country to rally behind Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

Last week, all three GOP candidates for governor — Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, attorney and businessman Bill Graham, and state Treasurer Dale Folwell — expressed support for Abbott. So did state Senate Republicans, who sent a letter to President Joe Biden calling on him to “stop thwarting Texas from effectively guarding the southern border.”

Cooper points to bipartisan immigration deal shaping up in Congress

In a statement, Cooper said that Republicans concerned about the border should support the bipartisan legislation that the White House has been negotiating with the U.S. Senate. The bill is strongly opposed by former President Donald Trump, who has vowed to “fight it all the way,” according to Axios.

“A bipartisan U.S. Senate is close to the strongest border security law in a generation but Donald Trump is telling Republicans to stop because a tough border law hurts his campaign,” Cooper said. “If Republican legislators really wanted a strong border they would release a statement supporting this legislation instead of bowing to Trump and supporting violating the Constitution and rule of law.”

Asked about the bill and Trump’s calls to Republicans to reject it, Moore said: “I’ll comment on what Congress does next January,” referring to when he would take office if he wins the seat representing the 14th Congressional District.

Rep. Jason Saine, a high-ranking member of House leadership, said border security is the top issue in the state, based on polling and how frequently constituents bring up the issue at campaign events.

A Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll of swing state voters that surveyed 706 registered voters in North Carolina between Jan. 16 and 21 found that 16% of North Carolina voters cited immigration as the “single most important issue” to them in this year’s elections, second only to the economy, which was cited by 34% of voters.

The poll, which shows Trump leading Biden in a head-to-head match-up in North Carolina by 10 percentage points, also found that voters in the state trust Trump over Biden to handle the issue of immigration by a margin of 24%.

NC may pass ICE legislation this year

In addition to calling for North Carolina National Guard deployments to Texas, House Republicans called on Cooper to commit to signing into law legislation to require sheriffs to inform and cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement if they charge someone with certain high-level offenses and can’t determine the person’s legal status.

That bill, similar to previous bills the legislature has sent to Cooper’s desk in recent years that Cooper vetoed, passed the House in March but wasn’t taken up by the Senate.

Moore said he believed the bill will be voted on by the Senate during the legislative short session that begins in late April.

The letter to Cooper also asks him to stop any “discretionary cooperation” with the federal government to settle and house migrants who are in the country illegally, in North Carolina.

House Republicans said they’re prepared use their supermajority to act on these issues during the short session if Cooper does not.