House Panel Bans Sanctuary Cities

A Michigan House committee has passed legislation intended to ban cities from operating as ‘sanctuary cities’ by refusing to cooperate with federal immigration authorities and to punish those that still insist doing so. The House Local Government Committee has sent bills to the full House, which would result in the prohibition of such policies in cities and countries, and render unenforceable any ordinance or law violating the act.

Last week, a committee meeting saw a tense testimony on the legislation being wrong, with arguments that it could cause higher costs, racial profiling, and legal action against both police departments and individual officers. Christopher Taylor, the Mayor of Ann Arbor, says the legislation is un-American and that it is trying to fix a problem that does not exist.

Taylor insists that Ann Arbor has an outstanding police force, which has worked for many years to promote trust with immigrants. He added that such trust would be gutted by the bills, resulting in the police being hamstrung to protect and serve by making immigrants afraid to report violent crimes. Taylor says the measures threaten public safety and are in complete opposition to American values.

Also opposed to the measure is the Michigan Municipal League’s director of state and federal affairs, Chris Hackbarth. He says that the 522 urban townships, cities, and villages he represents have had no problems in ten years of rules and policies in the way police deal with immigrants, calling the legislation a badly-crafted solution in search of a problem.