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Sanctuary Cities Ban Proposed In State Senate

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TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami) - Local government "sanctuary" designations to aid undocumented immigrants would be outlawed, and violators would face strict penalties, under a proposal filed in the state Senate.

The measure, filed by Sen. Aaron Bean of Fernandina Beach, is called the "Rule of Law Adherence Act." It would require local governments to comply with federal immigration laws and detention requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Government agencies that fail to comply could be fined $1,000 to $5,000 a day for each day a sanctuary policy was in effect.
The proposal, if approved, would go into effect October 1st, 2018.

A similar measure was approved 76-41, mostly along party lines, by the House during the 2017 legislative session. Critics argued the proposal targeted minority populations and was an unfunded mandate from the Legislature on local governments.

A Senate version, sponsored by Bean, failed to advance in committees during the 2017 session.

The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.

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