A newly adopted amendment to an appropriations rule will financially penalize any Michigan municipality or university that does not comply with federal immigration law or subverts its enforcement in any way.
The amended rule mandates that no appropriations bill shall be brought to a vote by the House if it contains a “legislatively directed spending item”—often called earmarks or pork barrel spending provisions—for a municipality or university that “actively maintains any rule, policy, ordinance, or resolution that would subvert immigration enforcement in any way or that refuses to comply with federal immigration enforcement measures.”
Majority Whip Mike Harris told The Epoch Times that every year, municipalities and universities reach out to the Legislature for funds to pay for pet projects.
Under the amended rule, those appropriations will not be considered by the Michigan House if the recipient is not cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The Partisan Divide
House Democrats strongly oppose HR 19, saying on their website: “On the surface, the resolution mandates local governments to report and certify their policies, procedures, and compliance related to federal immigration as a condition to receive state investments.
“However, in practice, this policy would endanger public safety, erode community trust, and threaten local government funding.”
According to Harris, Republican lawmakers believe the resolution is a step toward “reversing the toxic policies of the Democrats, getting common sense back in our state, and providing an example to the rest of the nation.”
Harris stated that rather than trying to accomplish the policy through legislation, where it would face certain rejection by the Democrat-controlled state Senate, the House opted to use its own rules to implement it.
“The kicker is divided government,” said Harris. “At least these rules allow us to control what happens in our own chamber.”
Harris said the resolution will guide the budget process and control what moves to the House floor for a vote, and that determines what gets to the Senate.
Specific Requirements
The resolution requires municipalities and universities to submit their rules, policies, ordinances, and resolutions related to federal immigration law and enforcement to the House.
The resolution states that they must declare in writing if they intend “to work with federal authorities or actively harbor or shield illegal aliens from federal enforcement authorities or operations.”
To have their special project funding requests considered, the local officials must certify that their documents contain no language that “requires, encourages, or supports subverting immigration enforcement in any way.”
A View From the Ground
Harris worked in law enforcement for 26 years before serving in the Legislature.He told The Epoch Times that “people sneaking into our country is a criminal offense.”
“They have demonstrated that they do not embrace our laws. A lot of these have prior criminal records,” he said.
“Transnational criminal gangs have been coming into my district, into Oakland County, and burglarizing homes. They are well-organized. Their favorite targets are the homes of professional athletes. They seem to like the memorabilia.
“Local law enforcement no sooner busts one gang, than in comes another. They are coming from Chile and Venezuela.
“I know from experience how crucial close cooperation between local and federal law enforcement is and why our communities and universities must stop working against them.”
Kalamazoo, Kent, Leelanau, Luce, Muskegon, Oakland, Washtenaw, Wayne, and Wexford counties are among them.
Detroit calls itself a “Welcoming City,” and only the state capital of Lansing describes itself as a sanctuary city.
Michigan is not a sanctuary state.
