This morning I'm signing SB 2710 banning sanctuary cities in MS. https://t.co/g2pQ3efJZm
— Phil Bryant (@PhilBryantMS) March 27, 2017
Governor Phil Bryant signed a law into effect yesterday declaring Sanctuary Cities illegal in the state of Mississippi. This action was on the heels of Secretary of State Jeff Sessions announcing that the current administration will attempt to crack down on illegal immigration by taking federal funding away from sanctuary cities. Sanctuary cities have the discretion to keep immigration officials away, even if an immigrant has a criminal record, those who do are the ones Sessions singled out in this new effort.
“The charges and convictions against these aliens include drug trafficking, hit and run, rape, sex offenses against a child and even murder,” Sessions said. “Such policies cannot continue. They make our nation less safe by putting dangerous criminals back on our streets.”
Bryant signed the bill into effect in an effort to assist federal agencies against illegal immigration. The bill states that cities, state agencies cannot prevent immigrations officials or employees from inquiring about a person’s legal status. Also included in this bill is public universities. In December, the Ole Miss Associated Student Body wrote legislation to attempt to declare University grounds as a sanctuary for illegal immigrants.
The legislation wasn’t put through the proper channels and, therefore, was never voted upon. A line at the bottom of the draft called for the bill to pass before President Trump was sworn into office. In addition to restricting immigration officials from campus, the draft aimed to use University funds to pay for illegal immigrants’ tuition because of “discriminatory laws that exclude immigrant students from paying in-state rates” and create online programs for imprisoned students.
When the bill was circulated, members of the community voiced their opinions, mainly in opposition. State Senator Chris McDaniel credited community involvement as the reason for the pulling of the vote. Chancellor Vitter responded to the draft by saying that the University would “continue to uphold our legal responsibilities and our university policies.”
Before signing the bill, Bryant referenced the situation at Ole Miss and made it clear that there will be no such action taken in the future.
“At that time, as I remember, the Chancellor said the University of Mississippi would follow the law. We will make sure today that he clearly understands as do all Mississippians that it would be against the law to form such a sanctuary city or university,” Bryant said.
Steven Gagliano is a writer for HottyToddy.com. He can be reached at steven.gagliano@hottytoddy.com.
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