When did jurisdiction become controversial? Latest Florida Sanctuary Cities debate
Excerpt:The House version of the bill —HB 527— was approved by the Civil Justice Subcommittee 9-3 along party lines Wednesday morning.
The bill requires state and local governments and law enforcement agencies to support and cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, or ICE.
In doing so, it prohibits law enforcement agencies from having policies that impede communication or information sharing with ICE and gives them a procedure to follow when someone who was arrested cannot provide proof of citizenship or legal residency or is subject to an immigration detainer.
Bottom Line: This isn’t the first proposal to have advanced in this state session, but it appears to be the most extensive. The first given is that we will have “sanctuary” legislation pass in this state session. The question at this point is simply how extensive it will be. The biggest difference between this version of proposed sanctuary legislation, compared to what passed in the Senate, is that this would enable the state to hold local law enforcement, in addition to municipal and county governments accountable. It’s unfortunate that this was a party line vote or that we’re even having a conversation about this topic in the first place.
To be clear, legal status is only a federal issue. No local government or law enforcement agency has any jurisdiction over anyone who lacks legal status. It’s legally incumbent on local governments and law enforcement to contact the proper federal authorities when someone lacks legal status. There are two sides to stories but just one side to facts. More to come.