A Republican congressman wants to block federal funds from going to sanctuary cities if they send migrants to other cities without notification. The legislation, proposed by Rep. Burgess Owens , R-Utah, is meant to prevent non-sanctuary cities from receiving immigrants they aren’t prepared to help without warning.
Owens’ district spans central Utah, near Salt Lake City and Provo.
“Self-declared sanctuary cities like Denver are abusing loopholes in the law and using federal taxpayer dollars to transport illegal immigrants to non-sanctuary cities like Salt Lake City,” Owens said in a statement. “Right now we have migrants showing up at our airports, bus stations, and city halls with no support, services, or sponsors after being dumped by so-called sanctuary cities.”
The Sanctuary City Oversight and Responsibility in Enforcement Act:
- Requires sanctuary cities to provide notice of imminent migrant arrivals to non-sanctuary jurisdictions.
- Requires documentation to prove the newly arrived migrants will continue receiving support at their destination through a family, sponsor or other organization.
- Makes cities who send migrants without warning or proper documentation ineligible to receive FEMA Shelter Service Program (SSP) funds.