Rahul Bali
,
Meimei Xu
| WABE
February 13th, 2025
The Georgia State Senate passed Republican-backed legislation Thursday that would take away legal protections from local governments, agencies, departments and their employees that don’t follow immigration laws.
Under sovereign immunity, individuals typically can’t sue local governments in Georgia.
Republican State Sen. Blake Tillery of Vidalia said his bill would take away sovereign immunity if local governing bodies violate Georgia’s laws requiring them to comply with immigration detainer notices and prohibiting them from adopting or implementing sanctuary policies. These are policies that restrict local officials from complying with federal immigration authorities and are often in effect at places like schools.
This comes as the Trump administration pursues aggressive mass deportation and immigration detention efforts across the U.S.
“If our citizens are harmed because you did not, as a local government or a local government official, abide by Georgia immigration law, well that citizen has a right to seek redress from you,” Tillery said on the Senate floor.
Senate Democrats believe the bill will have negative impacts on law enforcement resources.
Democratic State Sen. Elena Parent said the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, which is operated by U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement, has little capacity for more detainees. ICE did not immediately respond to a request about the capacity of the center currently.
“If ICE and the Stewart facility decides they want to release things, we don’t have the power to hold them responsible. We do have the power and the responsibility, though, to say that Georgia local elected officials and Georgia cities and Georgia counties should follow Georgia law,” Tillery said in response to Parent.
Democratic Sen. Nikki Merritt said local sheriffs and police departments do not have the funds or staff to enforce immigration law.
“Gwinnett County is huge, and we do have a problem. This is more burden for them. So how do we alleviate that?” Merritt asked Tillery.
Tillery said Merritt would need to introduce a bill to repeal the immigration laws already in place in Georgia.
Democratic State Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes of Duluth said Republicans have pushed for civil litigation reform to prevent “frivolous lawsuits” but are now supporting a bill she calls “the right to sue teachers act.”
“There is no sanctuary city in Georgia. Not a single one,” she said. “But SB 21 pretends that there is a problem where it not exists. And in doing so, it puts teachers and local officials in an impossible position.”
Islam Parkes argued the bill would invite unwarranted racial profiling.
“What do you exactly expect teachers to do underneath this bill? Do you want them to interrogate their students about their immigration status?” she said. “Do you ask a seven-year-old where they were born to profile kids based on their last name or the language they speak at home? Because that’s what this bill opens the door to.”
Tillery dismissed those scenarios.
Two rural Democratic senators joined Republicans to pass Senate Bill 21, which now goes to the House.
