Georgia Senate passes bill to punish local governments with loose immigration policies

The Georgia Senate passed immigration legislation March 21 tied to the killing of a Georgia nursing student who was slain on the Athens campus of the University of Georgia. John McCosh/ Georgia Recorder

The Georgia Senate passed a bill Thursday that could result in law enforcement agencies and local governments losing federal and state funds and force elected officials to be removed from office if they fail to comply with undocumented immigrant reporting laws.

The adoption of House Bill 301 on Thursday comes just days after a plea for Georgia legislators to pass a stronger immigration law was made by the father of slain nursing student Laken Riley, whose Feb. 22 killing has become a flashpoint in the national debate over border security and immigration policy in Congress, Georgia and and other state legislatures.

A 26-year-old Venezuelan immigration authorities say is undocumented, Jose Ibarra, has been charged by Athens-Clarke Police Department with the murder of 22-year-old Riley, who was killed while jogging on a University of Georgia running trail.

Thursday’s 33-19 vote for House Bill 301 was split along party lines, with Republican and Democratic lawmakers at odds over the need to ramp up the penalties. The legislation gives any state resident the right to sue local governments for not enforcing the state’s ban on so-called sanctuary laws that’s been in place since 2009. Senate Democrats criticized Republicans for demonizing a Georgia population that pays taxes and raises families while living productive lives.

On the day before the Senate voted on the bills, Laken Riley’s father, Jason Riley, urged lawmakers to “do more to protect us.”

“Governor Kemp, please declare an invasion to detain and deport criminal illegals so we can prevent future families from those tragedies,” Jason Riley said Wednesday in the Senate chamber.

According to the American Immigration Council, sanctuary policies embrace the idea that the federal government cannot compel local jurisdictions to enforce immigration laws.

The legislation approved Thursday says any public official who fails to enforce statutory laws will be suspended, which could eventually result in them being permanently removed from office by the governor. Suspended public officials must demonstrate in court that they are in compliance with state law before they can return to office.

State and federal funding would also be stripped from local governments in violation of the law.

The Senate on Thursday also passed HB 1105, which requires local and state police to identify, arrest, and detain undocumented persons.

“If you go out there and you want to be a sanctuary city, that violates Georgia law, then you’re going to be held accountable for that,” said Sen. Randy Robertson. “We’re going to take funding away from the state funding and federal funding that we’re responsible for.”

“If a local municipality chooses to blatantly violate Georgia law, that’s what happens,” the Cataula Republican said. “You may be a mayor, you may be a city councilor, you may be a county commissioner, but you are not above Georgia law.”

The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute reported in 2020 that roughly one-third of Georgia’s 1 million immigrants are undocumented.

Atlanta Democratic Sen. Jason Esteves criticized GOP members for political posturing, such as calling the immigration crisis an “invasion.”

“Our agriculture industry, poultry, construction, manufacturing, care workers, every single industry that is touted in this building has exploited this very community,” Esteves said. “Shame on every single one of us because there is no one in this chamber that does not know someone who has hired or has hired someone who is not undocumented.”

Sen. Josh McLaurin, a Sandy Springs Democrat, said HB 301 is problematic and unnecessary when there is already a law prohibiting cities from implementing sanctuary policies. He also questioned the need to allow any resident to sue.

“All this bill does is threaten complete financial extinction of the local government  by taking away state and federal funding and threaten removal of every elected official who serves the local government. if they don’t follow existing law,” he said.

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