LISA HILE OF the Rural Caucus of the Michigan Democratic Party speaks Thursday to the Michigan state House Government Operations Committee against legislation to ban sanctuary cities and limit social services to those of legal citizen status. (Anna Liz Nichols/Michigan Advance)

Republican lawmakers in Michigan are advancing legislation to ban sanctuary cities and counties that shield noncitizen residents from federal immigration enforcement, as well as bills barring those residents from receiving social welfare services.

As bill sponsors in the Michigan House Government Operations Committee argued Thursday that sanctuary statuses threaten public safety and social welfare and housing funds should go towards only legal citizens, immigration stakeholders argued the proposals are dehumanizing and destructive.

All of the bills presented Thursday cleared the Republican-controlled committee without support from the two Democratic members, though the bills would not likely gain enough support in the Democratic-led state Senate to make it to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, also a Democrat, to be signed into law.

Bills the committee heard testimony for, House Bills 4338 and 4339, would ban local governments and counties from creating or enforcing sanctuary city or county policies, ordinances or laws. Municipalities with existing sanctuary city policies would have 60 days after the bill goes into effect to remove the policy.

Additionally, Rep. James DeSana, R-Carleton, is sponsoring House Bill 4342 to penalize any municipality that doesn’t cut its sanctuary policies by withholding state revenue sharing dollars, which fund local police and fire departments, as well as road repairs and sewage systems.

“My goal in speaking here today is to stress how reckless sanctuary policies are and how they shield criminals and put them before Michigan residents who want to raise their families in safe communities,” DeSana said. “Communities that choose to ignore our federal immigration laws are putting lives at risk and it’s time we hold them accountable.”

Official sanctuary cities are nearly non-existent in Michigan, with some cities like Lansing operating as unofficial sanctuary municipalities, instructing law enforcement not to inquire about a person’s immigration status unless necessary. Some municipalities like Detroit and Bay City have adopted “welcoming” statuses to welcome individuals of all immigration statuses.

Amongst the organizations that wrote in their opposition to the bills was the Michigan Sheriffs’ Association.

With the strains that are already on public safety agencies, Yvonne Navarrete, policy director for We the People Michigan, said the last thing they should be prioritizing is dedicating any time or resources to complying or helping federal immigration officials. And with individuals already being detained and deported without due process under President Donald Trump’s administration, further opening the door to federal agents will only further weaken the systems of justice in the U.S., Navarrette said.

“I’m begging for competence … You can’t even define what a sanctuary policy is,” Navarrete said. “All I’m asking is that if you are so bold enough to take my public tax dollars and be a policy maker, at least be competent and write coherent policies that are efficient, that don’t waste our public tax dollars and actually do the thing you want them to do.”

Other bills the committee considered were House Bills 4340 and 4341, which would amend Michigan’s Social Welfare Act and State Housing Development Authority Act to prohibit non U.S. citizens from receiving services or grants provided under those acts.

Downriver Reps. Rylee Linting, R-Grosse Ile, and Jamie Thompson, R-Brownstown, who are sponsoring the bills, asserted that these policies would allow limited state services to go to “lawful citizens” who are struggling.

There is a lot of suffering in Michigan, Rep. John Fitzgerald, D-Wyoming, said, from food insecurity, homelessness and in general, barriers to family prosperity. However, the bills before the committee appear to leave the most vulnerable individuals in the state left out of life-saving services, Fitzgerald said, asking if noncitizens who are survivors of domestic violence or children who have experienced violence would still be allowed access.

“They would absolutely be eligible for services if they are legal Americans, if they came here legally,” Thompson said, offering her concern for the people in her district that can’t find affordable housing amidst Michigan’s housing crisis.

“It is important that we prioritize those who are here legally and are actually American citizens before we move on to anything else,” Linting said. “These bills are showing compassion to … the veterans living on the streets who served our country, families that are struggling, and ultimately, it is a slap in the face to immigrants who have come here legally, waited in line and now they are struggling and need help, for us to put someone here illegally, to put them ahead of them.”

There’s a presumption that Michigan’s noncitizen community doesn’t contribute to the state’s economy, Lisa Hile of the Rural Caucus of the Michigan Democratic Party said. But immigrants are the backbone of Michigan’s agricultural industry, a top industry in the state, Hile said, and beyond that, they are valued members of communities all over Michigan.

“They’re not taking anything from you,” Hile said. “You’re turning people on each other for absolutely no reason whatsoever. I’m tired. You’re … trying to get people to believe there’s problems that’s not here.”

A 2024 study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimated that undocumented immigrants in Michigan contributed more than $290 million in state and local taxes in 2022.

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