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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

State Senate Passes Bill to Punish PA Sanctuary Cities

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Friday, February 10, 2017   

HARRISBURG, Pa. - A bill that has passed in the state Senate would penalize sanctuary cities and counties in Pennsylvania.

Senate Bill 10 would withhold state money from municipalities that don't cooperate with federal immigration authorities. According to Sara Rose, an attorney with the ACLU of Pennsylvania, that could put places in a double bind for not complying with federal requests to hold a person in detention for possible immigration proceedings.

"If county jails hold people under these ICE detainers and it turns out that there's no probable cause to believe that the person is in the country without authorization," she said, "the county can be liable for damages to the person who's being held."

SB 10 now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration. Proponents of the legislation say it is about upholding the rule of law, but Rose pointed out that ICE detainers are only administrative requests and are not reviewed by a judge. She said the detainers often are issued by ICE field agents based solely on suspicion that a person may not have authorization to be in the country.

"In fact, we've had two cases here, just in Pennsylvania," she said, "on behalf of U.S. citizens who were held in jail on immigration detainers that had been issued erroneously."

Nineteen jurisdictions in Pennsylvania have announced their intentions to not cooperate with federal immigration authorities. If the bill becomes law, Rose said, the ACLU would look for ways to challenge it in court.

"We think it sets a dangerous precedent," she said, "and can really cause problems for municipalities and their relationship with immigrant communities."

Gov. Tom Wolf's office has expressed concerns about the legality of some aspects of the legislation.

The text of SB 10 is online at legis.state.pa.us.


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