New bills have been introduced in both the Senate and House that would require states to repay the federal government, should the feds have to use military resources to respond to any “civil disturbances” resulting from the state’s “refusal to cooperate with lawful Federal immigration enforcement.”
The Senate bill was introduced by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and the House bill was introduced by Rep. Jody Arrington (R-TX).
The idea was in response to riots across Los Angeles about ICE raids. The riots forced President Trump to send in thousands of National Guard troops and hundreds of Marines in order to protect federal personnel and property.
“As lawless states like California obstruct the federal government’s work to enforce immigration law, American taxpayers in other states have been forced to foot the bill for the military forces required to quell the chaos and protect law-abiding citizens. If a state refuses to do its job and forces the federal government to respond to unrest, they should pay for it,” Blackburn told The Daily Wire.
The bill, titled “State Accountability for Federal Deployment Costs Act,” would “send a message that refusing to comply with federal immigration law will not be tolerated,” Blackburn said.
Regarding the House bill, Arrington said that “[S]anctuary policies that obstruct federal law enforcement jeopardize communities and drain valuable resources – in fact, their very existence is a violation of the law. It’s entirely unacceptable for states that refuse to enforce immigration laws to expect taxpayers in states like Texas and Tennessee to foot the bill when the consequences of their lawlessness results in federal action. I’m proud to team up with Senator Blackburn to ensure that states that break the law, pay the price.”
The bill says that if a military response is required to deal with state authorities not cooperating with federal immigration enforcement operations, the state would be on the hook for the travel, meals, lodging, and other expenses incurred by the mobilized federal troops.
The attorney general and secretary of Homeland Security would be the ones to determine if the state’s actions led to the conditions requiring the troops. The state must make a payment within 180 days of receiving a reimbursement request from the Department of Defense, or risk the president rescinding discretionary grants to said state.
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