House Judiciary chairman says panel will move forward with legislation requiring local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said this week that his committee is preparing to advance legislation aimed at addressing so-called sanctuary jurisdictions, as tensions persist between major metropolitan areas and the Trump administration over immigration enforcement.
Jordan indicated that the panel expects to hold a markup within the next two weeks, according to Just the News.
“Sanctuary” jurisdictions are states, cities, or municipalities that decline to cooperate with federal immigration authorities or impose limits on federal enforcement actions in certain public spaces. According to data cited by Jordan from the Center for Immigration Studies map, such jurisdictions include 11 states, 18 major cities, three counties, and the District of Columbia, together representing roughly one-third of the U.S. population.
Appearing on the Just the News, No Noise television program, Jordan said the committee intends to move forward with legislation addressing the issue.
“We’re looking at passing a bill to deal with this sanctuary jurisdiction issue,” Jordan said. “We think we’re going to have a markup in two weeks in our committee to address this. That may be, well, you know, there’s various ways to look at it.”
Jordan described what he characterized as obstacles faced by federal immigration authorities when local officials decline to honor detainer requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“They got a guy in their jail. ICE knows it’s an illegal migrant who’s also been charged with some other crime, they get a notice saying it’s a detainer notice saying, ‘Hey, if you’re going to let this guy out, just give us a heads-up. Give us 48 hours. We’ll come and arrest him there at the jail,’” Jordan said.
“Instead, they release him to the streets. That’s a problem there. We should work at some way in our federal law that you can’t do that. You have to work with federal law enforcement, when you have that scenario.”
Jordan has not detailed specific enforcement mechanisms or penalties for jurisdictions that fail to comply, but indicated the proposal would focus on requiring local authorities to notify federal officials in cases involving noncitizens charged with crimes.
The legislative effort comes as the Department of Homeland Security is expected to conclude enforcement operations in Minneapolis, a city that has been the site of anti-ICE demonstrations and is identified as a sanctuary jurisdiction. According to Just the News, DHS is preparing to wind down its Minneapolis operations.
Minnesota has been among the states most resistant to cooperating with federal deportation efforts. However, Border Czar Tom Homan has announced that certain local agreements have been secured to facilitate cooperation between federal and local law enforcement agencies.
The Judiciary Committee’s anticipated markup signals the next step in House Republicans’ broader push to expand federal authority over immigration enforcement and to address what they describe as barriers created by sanctuary policies.
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