S1:Southern Sanctuaries Act

[Wisconsin+17]

Section I. The purpose of this bill is to make sure that innocent, deserving immigrants feel protected and live mercifully in certain cities to be designated as 'Sanctuary Cities.'

Section II. There is no requirement to become a Sanctuary City other than being an incorporated city.

Section III. The cities that shall be official Sanctuaries:
-Nashville, TN
-Jackson, MS
-Lexington, KY
-Austin, TX
-Amarillo, TX
-Lafayette, LA
-St. Louis, MO
-Oklahoma City, OK
-Virginia Beach, VA
-Huntsville, AL
-Baltimore, MD
-Miami, FL
-Atlanta, GA
-Raleigh, NC
-Little Rock, AR
-Topeka, KS
-Morgantown, WV
-Dover, DE
-North Charleston, SC
-Washington, D.C.
-Orlando, FL
-Plano, Texas

Section IV. Vetting is required to be executed before allowing immigrants to live in the Sanctuary Cities. Immigrants must be vetted at least once each year before becoming a citizen.

Section V. If an immigrant commits a crime that is considered a felony (murder, kidnapping, robbery, etc.) anywhere within the Southern region, a mandatory prison sentence should be served and deportation will have to be enforced. Misdemeanors shall not be reason for deportation.

Section VI. Discrimination of any kind against immigrants shall not be tolerated.

[Wisconsin+17]

This bill is now up for debate!

[NeverAgain]

I want to preface this with stating my wholehearted support of a fair and free immigration policy, one where we keep families together, not tear them apart. That being said, I am worried about this bill for two reasons:

1. This unilaterally countermands the rights of local city governments to choose if they wish to be sanctuary cities. By choosing this they are in violation of federal law, and can be deprived federal funding and be punished by the federal government. Therefore, I do not support the idea of individual cities being put under the spotlight of the federal government's possible tyranny.

2. Immigration policy falls under foreign policy therefore it should be decided by our federal government, and our job as Regional legislators should be to uphold these laws, and as I believe, help uphold the rights of ALL people, citizen or not.

I would ask that Representative OneJ look at Siren's wonderful bill which helps allow millions of immigrants come out of the shadows with a path to citizenship, protects our borders, and creates new priorities for how our immigration system works. Now that he is a national legislator, I believe this cause of equal opportunity for immigration should be taken up nationally, and I look forward to it.

TL;DR: I oppose this bill on the grounds of local governmental rights, and believe that immigration authority falls under the national government, and not ours.

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

While our national government should have final purview regarding immigration policy due to the national security concerns which come along with it, having places that encourage assimilation into Atlasian life and culture is not a bad idea. I think a middle ground can be found where national law would be followed but a significant degree of local and regional control can also be had.

[Wisconsin+17]

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Personally, I see no reason for regions to have any sort of control over immigration. Jurisdictions should follow federal law, which constitutionally is the purview of the federal not regional governments. It's a core part of sovereignty. I don't see how this bill can respect the laws of the federal government by essentially carving out areas that defy federal law.

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Agreed. This bill is not in our jurisdiction.

[Wisconsin+17]

Well, it seems as if debate has died down here. I'm going to call a 48 hour vote on this bill.

[NeverAgain]

Nay, on the grounds that not only do the regions not have authority over the cities nor over rule the feds on this. But we also shouldn't encourage active force against federal governmental policies. We must stand united, whether we agree or not, that is the place to change.

[Santander]

Nay

[Wisconsin+17]

Nay

[Wisconsin+17]

With 3 NAYs, and 2 members not voting, this bill has failed.

[Classic Conservative]

Huzzah! Fight for Strong Borders and Protect our People! #KatesLaw