The U.S. House passed a resolution to affirm support for the work of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency – also known as ICE – on Wednesday. The non-binding resolution came in answer to a push by some Democratic lawmakers and progressive activists to abolish the Agency. Democrats in the Senate blocked the resolution the same day.
According to a recent NPR / Ipsos poll, 65% of Americans believe U.S. employers who hire illegal workers should be fined, and 60% believe undocumented workers should get legal status if they were brought to the country as children. But the partisan differences in that poll are glaring, with significantly more Republicans favoring fines for employers of the undocumented, and more Democrats supporting legal status for undocumented immigrants brought here as children.
In North Carolina this year, ICE conducted two widely-reported raids -- in Asheville and the Triangle. Because of increasing pressure on undocumented immigrants and the family separation at the border, public outrage among opponents of those policies have prompted immigration rallies across the nation – and in Wilmington.
On this edition, we look at how the local conversation is evolving. Is the Cape Fear region as divided as Capitol Hill? It’s a closer look at these questions, the role of ICE, and what has happened to some local immigrants living illegally in North Carolina.
Guests:
Helen Tarokic, North Carolina Board Certified Immigration Attorney; Owner and Manager of Helen Tarokic Law, PLLC
Bryan Cox, spokesperson for the Southern Region of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
