February 24, 2025
The lawmakers are looking to establish punitive measures for mayors, council members, or other government officials who defy bans.
Republican lawmakers in more than 20 states are looking to punish local officials who defy the Trump administration’s directives on immigration by threatening lawsuits, fines, or jail time, as they target sanctuary policies that allow for noncooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
According to The Associated Press, the legislators are looking to establish punitive measures for mayors, council members, or other government officials who defy bans in some of those states on sanctuary policies.
As Georgia state Sen. Blake Tillery told the AP, the goal of the push from the MAGA-aligned Republicans is to give “teeth to those who are being aggrieved by local governments and local officials who are not abiding by Georgia immigration law.”
A bill he proposed in his home state, which allows lawsuits against those who create sanctuary policies, is now in the Georgia House of Representatives after clearing the Senate.
However, some opponents of Tillery’s bill, like Democratic Sen. Nikki Merritt, argued that the bill could also negatively impact the work of Georgia police officers and lead them to violate pre-existing federal limits on how long they can detain immigrants.
A 2024 law enacted in Georgia requires local law enforcement to cooperate with federal authorities to identify and detain illegal people or lose funding, and the new law proposed by Tillery is effectively doubling down on that existing statute allowing citizens to sue local governments, officials, and even employees for violating the ban.
“This all relates to Donald Trump’s war on immigrants and local people trying to garner favor with him through legislation that doesn’t solve any problems,” Charles Kuck, an Atlanta-based immigration attorney, told the AP.
According to Vox, Trump administration’s flurry of activity relating to immigrants has left the Democratic Party divided on how to adequately respond.
The party is largely divided into three camps: those who want to back some of Trump’s tough-on-immigration proposals, like the Laken Riley Act; those who see their constituents favoring a number of his positions but themselves haven’t decided how they’re going to vote, and progressives who are resisting the Trump administration at every turn regarding immigration.
“If you start talking about deporting the DREAMers in this country who have gone through our schools, graduated from our universities, and now can contribute back to this society, if you’re talking about deporting them, that’s going to be an issue,” Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-TX) said. “There’s going to be opposition if you talk about deporting children, or going into churches and schools and hospitals, and harassing our kids. But if you want to bring back the bill the Republicans and Democrats were prepared to sign last year, I think you will find support there.”
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