Federal agents in fatigues gather in Minneapolis last month. Health care workers in Minnesota and other states say ICE is increasing its presence in health care facilities, deterring people from seeking medical care. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)

The Michigan Senate Civil Rights, Judiciary and Public Safety Committee passed two bills along party lines that would limit federal immigration actions in Michigan, specifically prohibiting immigration enforcement in certain protected locations and limiting the use of masks by federal law enforcement officers.

Both bills, as well as a resolution urging Congress to pass similar legislation, passed along party lines, with both Republicans on the committee voting against them.

“Michiganders overwhelmingly support these very common sense policies that we’re talking about here,” Sen. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit), the committee’s chair, said after the committee hearing. “It’s really clear that states and local governments actually have a responsibility to step up, or the federal government has been failing. And so that is what we’re seeing across the country, and I’m hopeful that Michigan can be another example of a place where we can actually move forward at the state or local level to advance protections for our residents.”

The committee heard testimony on these bills in January, which turned tense as Sen. Jim Runestad (R-White Lake) harshly disagreed with the premise of the bills overall and their need in Michigan. The testimony in that hearing, however, was largely in favor of the legislation and its need as ICE enforcement nationwide has increased in recent months.

The sole testimony in opposition to the bills at that hearing came from the Federation for American Immigration Reform, an anti-immigration organization that has been designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group, a point which Chang highlighted again after Wednesday’s vote.

Chang said that, as the Senate prepares for a two-week in-district period without session, she expects the Senate to be “eager to make progress” on these bills in the full Senate once they return.

With Republican control of the House, it is unlikely that they would make it through that chamber even if they do pass the Senate. Chang, however, said that she is moving one step at a time with the legislation.

“We’re going to continue to see people speaking up and letting their lawmakers know how important this issue is to them,” she said. “I would hope that our colleagues in the House are paying attention.”

Groups around the state have repeatedly called on the Legislature to pass these bills, most recently a group of around 100 multifaith clergy members, who gathered outside the state Capitol on Tuesday to demand that the bills move forward.

Slight changes to both bills were adopted prior to their passage to the Senate floor. In SB 508, language was added to clarify that it specifically prohibits federal immigration officers, rather than all law enforcement, from conducting immigration enforcement in these locations, and specifies that the bill applies to non-public areas of protected areas. In SB 510, the substitute added a requirement for an activated body worn camera by immigration enforcement officers and clarifies that masks should not be worn except for situations where they might need to protect themselves against toxins, gas, smoke, inclement weather or harmful environmental conditions.

The final bill in the package, SB 509, which sought to prohibit state disclosure of personal information to immigration agents, did not move to the Senate floor, and Chang, who sponsored that legislation, said that she is not planning future testimony on that bill at the time.

“We’re moving forward with the bills and the resolution that we know that there’s strong support for,” Chang told reporters after the committee hearing. “I think that the fact of the matter is, this is the first time that the legislature has moved forward with any of these bills, and so I’m really excited about that progress. It’s a good sign of forward progress on the bills and the resolution.”

Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jon King for questions: info@michiganadvance.com.

This article, “Bills to limit federal immigration actions move to full Michigan Senate along party lines,” has been republished from the Michigan Advance under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.