North Carolina ended sanctuary city policies and required stricter cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement after House Republicans overrode a veto by Democrat Gov. Josh Stein.

Senate Bill 153, or the North Carolina Border Protection Act, now becomes law nearly a year after the Senate voted to override the veto.

The law expands the mandate to cooperate with federal immigration authorities by requiring the Department of Public Safety, Department of Adult Correction, State Highway Patrol, and the State Bureau of Investigation to work with them.

State law enforcement officers will undergo training conducted by ICE so they can take on some federal immigration law enforcement functions themselves.

When a person charged with a criminal offense enters law enforcement custody, officers must determine whether the person is a citizen or legal resident.

If they are unable to do so, officers must ask ICE about the person's status.

If the person is found not to be a citizen or legal resident, officers must share requested information with ICE.

The bill also requires the Department of Health and Human Services, various housing agencies, and the Department of Commerce to ensure only U.S. citizens and legal residents receive state-funded benefits, including Medicaid, housing assistance, and unemployment benefits, to the extent permitted under federal law.

It also states that counties or cities that operate as sanctuary jurisdictions by violating the law will no longer have governmental immunity from civil lawsuits if an illegal alien commits a crime within municipal limits.

"We've taken concrete steps to put an end to sanctuary city policies, but we've had public officials that made a name for themselves by openly defying those laws," said state Rep. Reece Pyrtle, R-Rockingham, according to The Charlotte Observer.

"These are common sense things to do to ensure that we are doing what we can at the state level to address illegal immigration and protect our citizens."

The bill also bars University of North Carolina institutions from implementing any policy that would restrict federal immigration law enforcement.

The reason it took so long to override Stein's veto is that Republicans lost their supermajority in the House in the 2024 elections, requiring them to get at least one Democrat on board to succeed.

House rules require 60% of members present to override vetoes.

Republicans were able to override the veto because two Democrats were absent: Reps. Shelly Willingham, D-Edgecombe, and Carla Cunningham, a former Democrat from Mecklenburg who is unaffiliated.

The House also overrode three other Stein vetoes, all of which deal with diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.

Senate Bill 227 prohibits K-12 schools from teaching or promoting a list of 12 "divisive concepts" that are inherently racist, sexist, or unlawful, describing certain DEI programs as encouraging people to judge others based on race, sex, or other protected classes.

The measure makes exceptions for speech protected by the First Amendment and instruction on historical oppression, provided that it is taught in an impartial manner.

Senate Bill 558 does roughly the same thing for public universities.

Instructors at public universities can still discuss the list of "divisive concepts," but cannot endorse them or require students to do so.

Those two bills now become law.

The third measure, House Bill 171, still requires a Senate override.

It targets DEI programs in state and local governments and bars public funds from being used for DEI initiatives, offices, staff positions, and training.

The bill states it is not intended to violate federal civil rights laws or restrict reasonable accommodations for protected classes.