Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (right) talks with (left to right) Lt. Col. Mike Kennedy of Arkansas State Police and state Rep. Frances Cavanaugh, R-Walnut Ridge, after Sanders announced the introduction of an immigration bill sponsored by Cavanaugh and Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs. (Photo by Sonny Albarado/Arkansas Advocate)
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders tied Arkansas immigration policy to President Donald Trump in announcing proposed legislation Monday that will impose harsher penalties on undocumented migrants who commit crimes in the state.
“After only a few months in office, President Trump has brought law and order back to our country, and Arkansas will continue to partner with him and help lead the way,” Sanders said in a press conference.
The legislation, Senate Bill 426, expands the state ban against so-called “sanctuary cities” into all unincorporated communities and counties and mandates Arkansas law enforcement agencies participate in a federal program that deputizes them to help U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in apprehension and deportation of undocumented migrants held in local jails and state prisons.
“The Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act makes it clear: Arkansas will not tolerate violent, criminal illegals and will do our part to help the Trump administration keep our citizens safe,” Sanders said as state troopers and county sheriffs stood behind her in the governor’s conference room at the state Capitol.
Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, and Rep. Fran Cavanaugh, R-Walnut Ridge, are lead sponsors of SB 426. Hester could not attend the press conference but said in a press release that the “legislation will help Arkansas reduce violent crime and keep us a safe place to live, work, and raise a family.”
Cavanaugh spoke at the press conference and said, “We need to give law enforcement the tools they need to help to be able to actually assist ICE.”
Sanders cited several highly publicized incidents involving undocumented immigrants in Arkansas, including the arrest in January of a man who struck an Arkansas state trooper, November’s arrest of a man from El Salvador wanted for gang association in his country, and the arrest of a Honduran native in September after a fatal drunken driving accident.
“These crimes didn’t have to happen,” Sanders said. “Violent criminal illegals have no place in Arkansas. In this administration, we will make sure they are held accountable.”
SB 426 “will slap enhanced penalties on illegal immigrants who commit additional crimes while in our state,” she said.
The sanctuary city ban will be expanded “so that no place in Arkansas, including unincorporated areas and counties can be a safe harbor for illegals.”
The bill also will require county sheriffs in charge of local jails and the state prison system to participate in the federal 287(g) program, specifically the Warrant Service Officer Program, which authorizes participating agencies to serve administrative warrants under federal immigration law.
SB 426 was on the Senate Judiciary Committee agenda Monday afternoon but was not brought up.
Sanders has been a strong supporter of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s efforts to apprehend migrants who cross the border illegally, sending a total of 120 Arkansas National Guard members to Texas in the past two years. She has also visited the border crossing at Del Rio, Texas, twice.
Help us keep Arkansas government in the daylight during Sunshine Week.