Jan. 26, 2017
HARRISBURG—Rep. Martina White (R-Philadelphia) today released a co-sponsorship memo asking House members to add their names to what will be known as House Bill 28 of 2017.
“In the last session, the House passed my legislation—
House Bill 1885-- to allow those injured by illegal immigrants to sue sanctuary cities and municipalities that refuse to co-operate with federal immigration officials,” White said. “Unfortunately, the session ended without the bill reaching the governor’s desk. We remain committed to keeping citizens safe and holding our cities accountable.”
White’s new legislation would hold any municipality that deemed itself a “sanctuary municipality” liable for damages to persons or property as a result of criminal activity by unauthorized aliens if:
- It has been determined by federal immigration officials that the person that engaged in the criminal activity is an unauthorized alien,
- The unauthorized alien is a resident of the sanctuary municipality,
- The unauthorized alien is convicted of the crime, and
- The criminal activity is a proximate cause of the injury.
The legislation also prevents an official or employee of the municipality from restricting the:
- Sending to or receiving from federal immigration officials any information regarding the citizenship or immigration status of an individual,
- Exchanging information, with regard to an individual, with other federal agencies, state agencies or municipalities,
- Inquiring about an individual’s name, date and place of birth and immigration status after an arrest, or
- Requesting an applicant for state or local public benefits to provide proof of eligibility.
Under this legislation, if a law enforcement officer of a municipality has reasonable suspicion to believe that an individual that is being arrested is not legally present in the United States, he or she must immediately report the individual to the appropriate United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office within the Department of Homeland Security.
White’s memo was released the day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to investigate which federal funds could be withheld from sanctuary cities. Mayor Kenney remained stubborn in his willful disregard for federal law that requires cities cooperate with Federal immigration officials.
“It is an insult to the citizens of Philadelphia that Mayor Kenney would willfully disobey federal law and continue to ignore the negative impact his dangerous policy has had on our citizens.” White said, “Just this past year a child was raped by an illegal immigrant after having been released due to the sanctuary city policy. It’s not the mayor’s choice which laws he wants to uphold and which ones he wants to disregard.”
Representative Martina White
170th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: David Foster
267.207.0207
dfoster@pahousegop.com
RepWhite.com / facebook.com/RepMartinaWhite