Which Legislators Are Supporting Republican House Leader Matt Hall's Fight To End "Sanctuaries" For Illegals In Michigan?

 

Republican House Leader Matt Hall

By Brandon Hall 

(Email him at WestMIPolitics@Gmail.com) 

The stunning murder of Ruby Garcia by an illegal last week in Grand Rapids has sparked national outrage over "sanctuary" municipalities like Kent County in Michigan.

"Sanctuary" cities and counties are considered safe-havens for illegals because of policies their County Commission or Sheriff have enacted. 

 

State Rep Matt Hall has introduced House Bill 4880 to ban sanctuary counties for illegals in Michigan:

"A bill to prohibit counties from enacting or enforcing any law, ordinance, policy, or rule that limits peace officers or local officials, officers, or employees from communicating or cooperating with appropriate federal officials concerning the immigration status of individuals"

Aside from Kent County, other “sanctuaries” for illegals in Michigan include East Lansing, along with Ingham, Kalamazoo, and Wayne counties.

Kent County officials dispute the designation, but a 2019 report from the Detroit Free Press details why ICE and President Trump's White House thought otherwise.

“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the White House criticized a county in Michigan this week for having what they called a “sanctuary” policy which they said threatens public safety by not holding immigrants for ICE beyond their release date without a judicial warrant. 

In January, Kent County Sheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young told ICE that her department will not agree to immigrant detainer requests from ICE unless they have a judicial warrant from a judge. Her move came amid an uproar from civil rights advocates after Grand Rapids Police and Kent County had handed over to ICE a Latino suspect born in the U.S. who was a U.S. citizen and Marine veteran, Jilmar Ramos-Gomez.

ICE says the new policy by the Kent County Sheriff is dangerous; civil rights advocates defended the sheriff’s move.

Kent County’s policy change “negatively impacts public safety and ICE’s efficiency in the apprehension of criminal aliens,” ICE said. The federal immigration agency said opponents of detainers without warrants “wish to undermine immigration enforcement and excuse the ill-conceived practices of sanctuary jurisdictions that put politics before public safety.”

West Michigan Politics is reaching out to Republican legislators asking:

🕵️ Do you support Matt Hall's legislation (House Bill 4880) to ban sanctuaries for illegals in Michigan?

🕵️Do you support efforts to make sure Kent County, Kalamazoo County, and ALL municipalities in Michigan hold illegals who have been arrested until ICE can arrive, under established ICE operational guidelines?

Here is a live list of legislators who have answered YES to both questions: 

🇺🇸State Rep. Patrick Outman

🇺🇸State Rep. Bill G. Schuette

🇺🇸State Rep. Angela Rigas

🇺🇸State Rep. Gina Johnsen 

🇺🇸State Rep. Curt Vanderwall

🇺🇸State Rep. Luke Meerman 

🇺🇸State Rep. Steve Carra 

🇺🇸State Rep. Jamie Thompson

🇺🇸State Rep. Cam Cavitt

🇺🇸State Rep. Matt Maddock

 

Check back often---the list is updated regularly!

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*State Rep. Tom Kunse answered "yes" to Question 1, but did not respond to Question 2.

*State Rep. Bryan Posthumus issued a statement on Monday referencing his support of HB 4880 in Question 1, but he did not respond to Question 2, saying he "hopes to hear President Trump lay out a plan that will lock down our border toward illegal immigrants while opening the door to those who chose to come here legally and proudly" during his visit this week.

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Brandon Hall is a lifelong political nerd from Grand Haven, and is the Managing Editor of West Michigan Politics.

>>>Email him at WestMIPolitics@Gmail.com