BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The Louisiana House has, on its second attempt, passed a proposal to penalize so-called “sanctuary cities” that limit cooperation with immigration authorities.
The House voted 63-32 Wednesday for Republican Rep. Valarie Hodges’ measure to bar sanctuary cities from receiving state grants.
The bill advances to the Senate, where a similar proposal died last year.
A majority approved Hodges’ bill last week. But the proposal called for civil fines, triggering a two-thirds threshold of support the measure didn’t receive. Hodges stripped those fines Wednesday to win passage.
Attorney General Jeff Landry backs the proposal, saying sanctuary cities harbor violent criminals.
New Orleans prohibits police officers from asking suspects about their immigration status. If that policy were outlawed, critics of Hodges’ bill worry Hispanics would be racially-profiled.
___
House Bill 676: www.legis.la.gov
Please read our comment policy before commenting.