BATON ROUGE--Lawmakers passed two bills this week aimed at expanding the state’s role in immigration enforcement, joining states like Texas and Florida in helping the Trump administration crack down on undocumented immigrants.
One bill would require agencies to track the legal status of people using public services, and the other would criminalize interference with federal immigration operations.
The Legislature last year empowered local and state law-enforcement to arrest people on suspicion that they were undocumented immigrants. Gov. Jeff Landry signed that bill into law, and the two bills passed this week will now go to him for his signature.
The latest legislation comes amid growing national tensions over immigration policy. Protests broke out in Los Angeles this week in response to enforcement actions, and Trump hinted at invoking the Insurrection Act, a set of laws that might let the president deploy the military domestically.
One of the new bills, Senate Bill 100, by Sen. Blake Miguez, R-New Iberia, would mandate that state departments--including Health, Education, Motor Vehicles and others--disclose whether individuals receiving services are “illegal aliens” or “unaccompanied alien children.”
Services covered under the bill range from healthcare and education to tax benefits and emergency assistance.
Agencies would have to report how many people in those categories they serve and the cost of those services.
The reports would be submitted annually to the governor, the attorney general and the Legislature and published online.
The bill also would require agencies to verify legal status, either through immigration documents or by using federal tools like the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements system. Agencies that do not comply risk funding loss.
Senate Bill 15 by Sen. Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, would prohibit private individuals and public officials from obstructing federal immigration enforcement or civil immigration proceedings.
That would include refusing to cooperate with requests from agencies like the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, or failing to honor written detainer requests when releasing someone suspected of being in the country illegally.
The bill updates the state’s obstruction and malfeasance laws to cover immigration-related violations. Penalties range from six months in jail and a $1,000 fine to one year in jail and a $5,000 fine.
More serious violations involving public officials could lead to felony charges and prison sentences of up to 10 years. The law would take effect Aug. 1.
If SB15 is enacted, Louisiana would be the first state to institute state criminal penalties for interfering with immigration enforcement efforts. Under current law, these issues are handled as a civil matter.
Both measures reflect Gov. Jeff Landry’s broader agenda to position Louisiana as a more active player in immigration enforcement, which echoes moves in the other Republican-led states.
Advocates against the legislation highlighted the negative impact the bills would have on immigrant families in the state.
Tia Fields, policy manager at the Baton Rouge-based Louisiana Organization for Refugees and Immigrants, told the Louisiana Illuminator that the bills convey a “chilling message” and portray immigrant families as expendable.
