In Washington, D.C., A bill introduced in Congress on Tuesday would stop government money from going to “sanctuary cities,” which are places that have policies that let illegal immigrants stay. The bill has the support of senators from Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Nebraska.
It is called the No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities Act, and it was introduced by U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho.
All of the co-sponsors are Republicans, and U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo from Idaho is one of them. They also have Pete Ricketts of Nebraska and Mike Lee of Utah, as well as U.S. Sens. Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy, both of Montana.
Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, is not yet an official co-sponsor, but he told Cowboy State Daily that he supports the plan. He also said that he agrees with the order that President Trump signed last week that government agencies and programs can’t give illegal immigrants services paid for by taxpayers.
Barrasso said, “It’s an outrageous insult to the American people to use our tax dollars to support sanctuary cities and the free stuff they give to illegal immigrants.” “I support both Senator Risch’s bill and President Trump’s executive order to crack down on sanctuary cities and get rid of the incentives that led to the immigration crisis in the first place.”
Barrasso also said, “I will continue to fight so that no tax money from Wyoming or anywhere else in the country ends up in the hands of people who break our laws.”
At this point, U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyoming, is also not a co-sponsor, and she did not give Cowboy State Daily a quote on Tuesday. But Joe Jackson, a spokeswoman for Wyoming’s junior senator, said she agrees with the idea behind the bill.
Jackson said that Lummis fully agrees that taxpayer money should not be used to fund sanctuary towns. He also said that Lummis is co-sponsoring a different bill to stop illegal immigration. “She’s excited to keep working with her coworkers and the Trump administration to solve the Biden border matter.”
A Barrasso spokesman also said that Wyoming’s senior senator asked Xavier Becerra, who was Health and Human Services secretary at the time, about hospitals across the country that were very busy with illegal immigrants while Biden was in office.
The Executive Order
When Risch talked about the new bill on Tuesday, he said that sanctuary towns “abuse taxpayer dollars and fuel the illegal immigration crisis.”
He said, “My No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities Act stops these places from using federal money to give illegal immigrants handouts.”
Risch said that the plan is in line with the order that Barrasso talked about. The order was signed by Trump on February 19.
The White House summary of Trump’s order uses cost figures from FAIR, a nonprofit group, to show how much it will cost. The group says that 20 million illegal immigrants and their children increase the costs of living in the U.S. by at least $182 billion each year.
According to the group’s figures used by the White House in the summary of Trump’s order, that includes $66.5 billion in federal costs and an extra $115.6 billion in state and local costs.
In the press release that Risch sent out about the new bill, he did not include any cost figures. It did have comments from a number of senators who supported the bill.
Sheehy from Montana said, “Nobody in their right mind would say it’s a good idea to make hardworking American taxpayers pay for sanctuary cities and encourage people to come into our country illegally.” “It’s time to end the backward policies that encourage illegal immigration. I’m proud to support this America First bill with my colleagues to bring back common sense, fix our finances, and put the needs of our people first.”
Lee of Utah added, “Lawless so-called sanctuary cities should no longer be able to break the law and threaten the safety of communities across America.” This law says that you will lose federal funding if you don’t follow federal law and hand over dangerous criminals to ICE and other officials. People in the United States shouldn’t have to pay taxes to support sanctuary cities and states that put families in risk.
Risch says that the bill describes a “sanctuary jurisdiction” as any local or state government that doesn’t tell federal, state, or other local authorities about a person’s citizenship status.
Risch said that the bill would stop “sanctuary jurisdictions from receiving federal funds for the specific benefit of illegal immigrants.”
Senators from Indiana, Missouri, and Mississippi are also in favor of the bill.
The bill goes along with one that was introduced last month in the U.S. House by Republican Rep. Nick LaLota, who covers a part of Long Island outside of New York City.
It’s not official that U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyoming, backs the bill, but she has said that she does.
Hageman told Cowboy State Daily, “I voted for the No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities Act last Congress and plan to do so again this Congress.” “Cities can’t expect to violate federal law, against the will of the American voters, and still receive federal funding.”
