Pierce rejects bill forcing all levels of state government, schools, and universities to assist ICE

Yesterday, Feb. 12, Senate Bill 76 passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 61 to 28. Because the bill was amended in the House, it returns to the Senate to approve the House changes or to request a conference committee to reconcile differences in the bill. 

SB 76 requires local governments, law enforcement, schools and universities to assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including complying with detainer requests. The state attorney general is given broad powers to investigate any of these entities he feels is not sufficiently compliant with ICE and to seek penalties against them.

State Rep. Matt Pierce (D-Bloomington) released the following statement: 

"Why do we want to give our full, complete compliance to an organization that has proven itself to be poorly trained, incompetent, not able to follow our laws or constitution, and has caused the deaths of innocent U.S. citizens? We don't have to have this bill. We don't have to completely entangle our entire state with this deadly force that's spreading chaos and violence wherever it goes.

"It doesn't help that the bill gives our ethically challenged attorney general immense power to investigate and seek penalties against anyone he deems not sufficiently compliant with ICE. We should know better than to hand the attorney general this power."