KY bill would bar ‘sanctuary city’ immigration policy, require law enforcement to aid ICE
A Kentucky lawmaker filed a bill Wednesday that would bar cities from obstructing federal government agents’ actions on immigration enforcement, including detention or deportation of immigrants who entered the country illegally.
Rep. Jared Bauman, R-Louisville, filed House Bill 344 with the intention to “uphold federal law and to support federal law enforcement agencies” in detaining immigrants who crossed the country’s border illegally.
That’s a high priority of newly-elected Republican President Donald Trump, who ran on a platform criticizing allegedly lax border policies.
“The federal government has a clear mandate from the American people to enforce our nation’s immigration laws,” Bauman wrote in a press release. “... Above all, we are committed to supporting federal law enforcement agencies as they pursue illegal aliens who have committed violent crimes against innocent Kentuckians and pose an active safety threat to our communities.”
Local governments would be required to comply fully with immigration-related organizations like Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, Customs and Border Protection and any other federal agency charged with carrying out immigration policy.
The local policies meant to interfere with federal immigration enforcement, the ones targeted by the bill, are commonly referred to as “sanctuary city” policies.
Are there any such cities in Kentucky? It depends on who you ask.
Both of Kentucky’s largest, progressive-leaning cities are not, they say. The anti-immigration think tank Center for Immigration Studies has issues with Louisville’s city government, however, calling it a sanctuary city; that’s a characterization Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg pushes back on.
Rep. T.J. Roberts, R-Burlington, introduced a similar bill early last month, which also barred any “sanctuary policy” and enshrined a right to sue over certain actions on those policies.
Bauman’s bill is more expansive than Roberts’, and requires a local law enforcement agency to “use all resources reasonably available to it to support the enforcement of federal immigration law,” whatever that may be.
Another provision of the bill would authorize county governments to enter into agreements with federal agencies for the detainment of people who entered the country illegally and would waive qualified immunity for any local government or law enforcement agency that releases a person in those circumstances who subsequently commits a violent offense.
That would permit the victim or victim’s family to file a civil action for damages against the local agency.
“We have a responsibility to the people of Kentucky to ensure that our government enforces federal law,” Bauman wrote. “When local governments or state agencies establish sanctuary policies to undermine law enforcement, it signals to our citizens that our government does not take public safety seriously, and it suggests to criminals that they can act without consequence.
“We must ensure that federal agents are supported when operating in our communities. Collaboration and communication between local, state and federal agencies will make the repatriation process safer for everyone involved, including our law enforcement officers and community members.”
