(The Center Square) – As President Donald Trump’s administration continues to crack down on illegal immigration, the Michigan House also recently moved to suspend funding to sanctuary cities, counties and universities throughout the state.
With Republicans in control of the state House, House Resolution 19 passed by a vote of 56-50. It was a party-line vote, with no Democrats voting in favor of the resolution.
The resolution amends the House’s rules to require no bill be brought for a vote which contains appropriations for any sanctuary municipality or university.
It defines a sanctuary municipality as any county or city 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.”
According to a Feb. 13 report from the Center for Immigration Studies, Michigan has nine sanctuary counties that have practices that “obstruct immigration enforcement and shield criminals from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.” Among those are some of the most-populous in the state, including Kalamazoo, Wayne and Muskegon.
One Michigan city, East Lansing, has also declared itself a sanctuary for illegal immigrants, meaning that officials, including law enforcement officers, shall not actively collaborate with federal agents on enforcing immigration laws. Michigan State University in East Lansing has declared itself a sanctuary campus.
Not all sanctuary municipalities are clear though. While the report does not list Detroit as a sanctuary city, it has declared itself a “Welcoming City,” according to a memo from the city’s Legislative Policy Division.
The resolution went into effect immediately, but it is unclear how it might play out in the coming months of the legislative session as the House begins to vote on bills. House Republicans have said it will have a direct effect on state funding for appropriations.
“If you become a sanctuary jurisdiction, you are not going to get pork projects,” said Speaker of the House Matt Hall, a Republican. “We do have an obligation to do constitutional revenue sharing, and we will continue to do that . . . We are just saying, if you’re one of those municipalities that’s asking us to pay for your stadium or sports complex or water park, don’t be a sanctuary city.”
To comply with the resolution, municipalities and universities must submit information to the House detailing how they do not actively have policies in place “subverting immigration enforcement.”
The Michigan Immigrant Rights Center joined Democrats in opposing the resolution, stating that “the proposed rule amendment represents a complete misunderstanding of discussions within localities around supporting immigrant communities.”
The center pointed to a lack of clarity in the resolution on what would constitute a sanctuary policy.
“The resolution is overly broad,” the center said. “In short, these policies are designed to uphold the rule of law allowing communities to thrive.”
International migration in Michigan has been steadily growing over the past few years, meaning the state will likely see more federal immigration enforcement in the coming months as the Trump administration expands deportations.
Currently, Michigan has more than 88,000 “undocumented immigrants,” according to the American Immigration Council. They make up 13% of the total immigrant population in the state, which totals 690,000.
Yet, while the Council states that 88,000 of the immigrant population are undocumented, it also reports that only 54.7%, or 376,000, of the total immigrant population in the state are naturalized U.S. citizens.
In the month since Inauguration Day, ICE and other federal agencies have had little activity in the state, announcing just a few arrests of “immigration violators” at the end of January.
Sanctuary policies have likely had little to do with the lack of arrests though, as U.S. Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove stated that the administration “will use every tool at our disposal to prevent sanctuary city policies from impeding and obstructing lawful federal operations designed to make America safe again.”
