'Sanctuary cities' legislation continues to advance, heads for Iowa House vote

A Republican from Storm Lake was the sole member of his party to vote against advancing so-called "sanctuary city" legislation through a House committee Tuesday, citing concerns from local officials who lead one of the most diverse communities in the state.

“I’m listening to the people back home," said Rep. Gary Worthan. "Our school district was against this bill. Our local chief of police was against this bill for community policing reasons. The same with the county sheriff."

Storm Lake is more racially diverse than much of the state, and white students make up just 16 percent of the population at Storm Lake Community School District.

"I'm sorry that this vote had to happen," Worthan said. "But I understand why it was brought up."

The bill, Senate File 481, directs local governments to comply with federal immigration authorities or risk losing state funding. It was amended and approved by an 11-10 vote, sending it to the House floor for a vote.

Republican leaders have said the legislation is a direct response to a policy adopted in Iowa City that says the city will not commit local resources to enforcing federal immigration law. That policy was adopted amid calls from the community that the city declare itself a "sanctuary city" following President Donald Trump's election in November.

The city did not adopt that title, which is often used as a catch-all term to indicate those communities with policies intended to limit their involvement with federal immigration authorities.

"I’m saddened that certain communities appear to be putting ideology above the rule of law and putting their citizens and immigrant population at risk, but they are," said the bill's sponsor, Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison. "They are. And that is why this legislation is absolutely necessary."

Worthan too blamed Iowa City officials for "trying to blow themselves up, making themselves the good guy," though he agrees they are not a sanctuary city.

"In all actuality, the legislation isn’t going to do anything, because we don’t have a problem," he said.

Worthan said that although he believes the legislation won't have sweeping effects, the perception of it is "going to cause damage" among the state's immigrant communities.

Already this year, Latino activists have flooded the Capitol for rallies to protest Senate File 481 as it advances through the committee process.

More: Latinos, immigration advocates rally at Iowa Capitol amid DACA unrest

Public Safety Committee Chairman Rep. Clel Baudler, R-Greenfield, initially attempted to close the committee meeting to activists who attended, citing previous meetings that had grown rowdy.

"We don’t want a repeat of that," Baudler said. "And that was an attempt to stop it."

Baudler ultimately allowed members of the public to attend the meeting, which was held without incident.

Rep. Wes Breckenridge, D-Newton, urged the committee to consider forming a study committee rather than passing the legislation, saying lawmakers should consider the unintended consequences it could create.

"I think the way this is worded and put forth could create fear and instability within our communities and within our sheriff’s departments and local law enforcement," he said.

Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad, D-Des Moines, held up photos of people slain in recent shootings, noting that those tragedies had not been perpetrated by undocumented immigrants. He questioned whether the bill would actually address public safety, as its authors have argued.

"If we’re going to bring bills that are going to deal with public safety and we’re going to point fingers at incidents that happen, why wouldn’t we deal with what has become an epidemic in our country?" he said.

The bill would require local law enforcement agencies to comply with federal detainer requests issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Those ask local authorities to detain people suspected of being in the country illegally for 48 hours beyond the time required by the charges they face.

The legislation requires a written detainer request, but it does not require a judge or magistrate's signature.

The American Civil Liberties Union and others have questioned the constitutionality of those requests.

The bill also seeks to ban local entities from crafting policies that prevent law enforcement officers, corrections officers, county attorneys, city attorneys and other local officials from inquiring about the immigration status of a person under lawful detention or arrest or exchanging that information with federal entities.

"No Iowan or immigrant living in Iowa should be harmed because someone is in this country illegally and could have been deported through cooperation with immigration authorities if they previously committed a violent crime or a drunk driving crime or something of that kind," Holt said.