Sanctuary cities bill resurrected

A Kalispell lawmaker’s proposal to punish so-called “sanctuary cities” in Montana was resurrected Tuesday morning, a week after a legislative budget panel tabled the measure following a tie vote that failed to advance it to the floor.

Three Republican members of the House Appropriations Committee changed their votes on House Bill 611 while another was absent during the panel’s executive action, resulting in a 11-10 decision to reconsider the bill. It was sent back to the House floor on a 13-9 vote.

House Bill 611 would withhold state funding from counties, cities and towns in Montana that enact policies restricting law enforcement officials from sharing information related to a person’s citizenship status or from detaining inmates at the request of federal immigration authorities.

It would also provide $50,000 to the Attorney General’s office to enforce the law.

Because the bill, sponsored by Republican Rep. Derek Skees, has already missed the Legislature’s deadline for appropriations bills to pass one of the two chambers, two-thirds of the Senate members need to vote to accept it from the House. The bill already won preliminary House approval on a 58-41 vote before it was referred to the budget committee.

While Skees acknowledged that no such “sanctuary cities” exist in the state, he told the House Judiciary Committee last month that the measure was simply intended to align Montana with federal immigration laws.

“This bill is about illegal immigrants who have broken the law, and when the federal government tries to do their jobs and local governments stand in the way using sanctuary-city ordinances, that’s what this bill is about,” Skees said during the March 27 hearing.

Opponents to the legislation included the Montana American Civil Liberties Union, Montana Association of Christians and Montana League of Cities and Towns. Montana Human Rights Network Co-Director Rachel Carroll Rivas objected to Skees’ law-and-order characterization of the proposal and said it is “rooted instead in fear and resentment of immigrants” and could encourage racial profiling by local law enforcement officials.

Opponents also argued that it could discourage immigrants or minority communities from cooperating with local law enforcement and prosecutors.

Skees’ bill comes amid a national debate over President Donald Trump’s proposals to withhold federal funding from municipalities that resist requests detention and information requests from federal immigration agencies.

The House has not yet scheduled the measure for a final floor vote.

Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.