A state House committee has adopted a requirement that local officials help enforce federal immigration laws. The ban on “sanctuary cities” in Michigan passed on a party-line vote.
Opponents of the bill filled the hearing room and spilled into an overflow area. The audience occasionally clapped and cheered as people testified in opposition to the “sanctuary cities” ban.
Local officials like Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor say their police officers aren’t trained to do immigration work, and this bill also damages their efforts to attract immigrants.
“Please don’t make Michigan a show-me-your-papers state. That would be the result of this legislation.”
Republican state Representative Runestead says law officers can’t simply stop people without probable cause.
“No law enforcement is permitted to walk up to an individual and say, ‘show me your papers.’ It’s preposterous, something out of a movie from the 40s. The reality is you have to be stopped for something else.”
Keysha Wall of Inkster warned lawmakers they’d pay a price for adopting a ban on “sanctuary cities.”
“Everyone knows these bills will only lead to more racial profiling, deportations, and violence against immigrants, and the tearing apart families and communities that Michigan will feel as a scar on our heart for generations to come.
No one testified in favor of the bill in today’s hearing. It cleared the committee on a party-line vote with Republicans voting for the ban, and Democrats against it. The bill now goes to the House floor.