H.R. 400- Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act

Named the "Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act" an identical version of this bill has been submitted to the senate as S.87. I find the first couple of provisions in this bill particularly disturbing. Some of the provisions in this measure are as follows:

- Any employee or officer of a given state who complies with an ICE detainer will be seen as "acting as an agent of the Department of Homeland Security" and shall have "all authority available to officers and employees of the Department of Homeland Security"
- Anyone attempting to take legal action against the person who executed the ICE detainer will have to take suit against the federal government directly as the individual will be considered an employee of the Federal Government.
- Lawsuits will be prosecuted in accordance with section 1346(b) of title 28 of the United States Code
- Makes locations defined as sanctuary jurisdictions ineligible for federal funds under the following programs: economic development administration grants, community development block grants, and the protection of individuals against crime act.

Before I get too deeply into the issues with this bill let me start by making sure we all have a clear understanding of what a sanctuary city is. There is a great article from the Economist here. To put it bluntly these areas, sometimes entire states, shelter illegal immigrants. How and why they do that are truly the more important matters. The how can be by law or policy typically refusing to allocate local funds to enforce/execute federal detainers or investigate an individual's immigration status. The why is much more speculative but here are a few good reasons:

1) Humanitarian- most illegal immigrants, besides the fact that they are here illegally, are not criminals (See here) and deserve to be treated with compassion and basic human dignity including not having to live in constant fear of being arrested and torn away from their families.
2) Limited resources- we all hear the lament of how local police are under funded, facing cuts, etc. So, why would local police spend their valuable resources on illegal immigrants (a federal jurisdiction) when that money should rightfully be spent on protecting and supporting their local communities. This is especially true considering most illegal immigrants are not out commiting petty, let alone violent crimes, and so it would just be an additional strain on the community's resources to seek these individuals out.
3) A large portion of illegal immigrants pay taxes (for an abbreviated version see here)- this money not only boosts state and local economies but goes into the very police forces that are being expected to prosecute them
4) To avoid civil rights violations- when we talk about illegal immigration most Americans usually think of Mexicans despite the reality that only about half of illegal immigrants currently in the US are from Mexico. When local law enforcement starts seeking out those with questionable immigration status it would be easy to fall into the trap of discriminatory practices by targeting certain ethnic groups. The Latino(a) population is particularly vulnerable to this targeting because of the preconceived notion that makes people think most Hispanics are illegal.

Now, back to this little piece of legislation.

If you don't support sanctuary cities after what I've cited above I doubt I'll convince you. That said, even if you do not support sanctuary cities this legislation should still give you pause. The first two parts of this bill that I've laid out are the most concerning. To me this starts us down the road towards "special" police forces executing the will of the Federal government in defiance of local law. Like George Orwell's 1984 where citizens were routinely encouraged to report on each other this bill appears distinctly designed to turn local communities against each other. Now more than ever is a time for our local communities to unite and so this bill cannot be allowed to pass.

This bill was sponsored by Diane Black (R-TN). It was cosponsored by 65 representatives, all Republicans and representing 24 different states. The corresponding senate bill was put forth by Pat Toomey (R-PA). It was cosponsored by 23 senators, all Republicans and representing 19 different states. If you are concerned about this bill I would encourage you to check if your senator or representative is in support of it and write them with your concerns.

Wondering if your city is a sanctuary city? Check this list to find out