Old North News

Veteran North Carolina State Rep. George Cleveland (R-Onslow) said that mismanagement of immigration issues has resulted in a failed system in the state, including issues surrounding the North Carolina State Board of Elections and questions over illegal aliens potentially voting in the November general election.   

Cleveland, who has served in the North Carolina House of Representatives since 2005, did not hold back in an interview with Old North News. 

“I got a hell of a big problem when we treat illegal aliens like they're citizens,” Cleveland told Old North News. “They are not. I mean, come on, 'illegal' explains it, but nobody wants to use that word anymore. If somebody comes into your country breaking the law, to come into your country and they're a migrant. That's garbage if they're an illegal alien and should be treated as such.” 

Cleveland’s comments come as the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the North Carolina GOP (NCGOP) have filed a second lawsuit against the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE), alleging violations of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) due to improper handling of voter identification. 

The RNC and the NCSBE did not respond to requests for comment from Old North News. 

The lawsuit claims the NCSBE's failure to require identification information, such as driver's license numbers or Social Security digits, for about 225,000 voters allows non-citizens to potentially cast ballots. 

The RNC and NCGOP said the Board did not take corrective measures, while NCSBE officials argue that the lawsuit demands an impractical solution and misrepresents the issues with voter registration. 

The lawsuit also challenges the board’s compliance with federal and state election laws.

Critics maintain that voter registration of illegal immigrants in the state may also be more likely to occur if illegal immigrants are able to obtain mortgages, utility bills and tax identification numbers. 

In North Carolina critics have pointed to the Latino Community Credit Union (LCCU), which has 15 locations throughout the state, for its policies assisting illegal immigrants in receiving loans and taxpayer identification numbers. 

Steve Cortes, president of the League of American Workers, recently criticized the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for not addressing taxpayer-funded mortgages given by nonprofits like the LCCU to undocumented immigrants. 

Cortes and other critics have argued that such policies are unfair to American citizens and misuse taxpayer funds. He has urged the U.S. House Financial Services Committee to question CFPB Director Rohit Chopra about his support for providing mortgages to illegal aliens. 

The controversy follows a recent report on LCCU’s practices and concerns raised by GOP vice president candidate U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance about the potential financial risks for banks issuing loans to illegal immigrants.

Cleveland said taxpayers should not be footing the bill for such items.

“It shouldn't be done. They don't do it for citizens. Why should it be done for illegal aliens?” Cleveland said.

Cleveland added that while he was not aware of the specific situation involving the LCCU, more generally he feels that those providing such services are engaging in illegal conduct themselves.

“Treating an illegal alien like he's a citizen—you yourself are aiding and abetting crime,” he said. “I don't care where you sit in the stratosphere of the government or business, you're abetting crime.”

Cleveland, who is 85 and served 25 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, expressed disillusionment with what he sees as a broken system, predicting dire consequences for the future. 

“I sure am glad that I am the age that I am because what's going to happen in this country in the next ten years is going to make Venezuela look like a party,” he said.

Cleveland noted his broader concerns about national security and crime. 

“In the last three years, we have probably had more terrorists and gang members come into this country than we have in the last 25 years,” he said. 

Cleveland emphasized his belief that this approach is detrimental to public safety and criticized the legal system's handling of illegal immigrants involved in violent crimes. 

“You read about it constantly, about illegals killing children and mothers and raping and pillaging,” he said. “And what do they do? They sneak back to their home country if they're able, or they get into a prison someplace and hang around a couple of years, get sent back to their country and they're back in this country in another 18 months.” 

Cleveland said he has no issue with temporary visa programs or legal rules of immigration, but expressed deep concern over the course the country has taken over the Biden Administration during which time an estimated 10-13.5 million illegal immigrants have entered the country. 

He argued that the federal government’s handling of the H2A program—designed to bring temporary agricultural workers into the U.S.—has caused significant issues for local farmers leading to the embrace of more illegal aliens in the state’s economy. 

“The federal government does an extremely sh!#*% job of running the H2A program,” he said. “They cause the local state's farming community more angst and aggravation than their worth.” 

In the past Cleveland has tried to stave off the illegal alien element in the state. He and others banded together in the early 2010s to pass immigration reform in the state to only see it dialed back a year later. 

“Unfortunately, our legislative leadership hasn't done much of anything,” he said. 

In June eight illegal immigrants with ties to ISIS were intercepted at the southern border.

In 2022 alone Border Patrol encountered 172 would-be illegal immigrants on so-called terror watch lists. 

In recent months high profile cases have seen members of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, notorious for its violent activities, expanding its operations across the U.S. Members of the gang were linked to a brutal jewelry store robbery in Denver. 

During the June 25 heist, which involved pistol-whipping and threatening female employees, suspect Jean Torres Roman, who illegally crossed the border in 2023, was recently arrested in New Mexico and identified as a gang member. Another member of the group had been picked in Illinois for other crimes before being released under the state’s no cash bail policy. 

In recent days video has been released showing heavily armed members of Tren de Aragua overrunning an apartment complex in Aurora, Colo. In the video gang members are pictured roaming the grounds with semi-automatic rifles.