LANSING, Mich. — Senate Republicans voted to support efforts aimed at curbing the flow of fentanyl into the United States and ending the practice of sanctuary cities and counties in Michigan during Wednesday’s Senate session. The bills are part of a comprehensive package that aims to protect Michigan communities from the damage done by President Joe Biden’s failed border policies.
“The Biden administration has failed every U.S. citizen,” said Sen. Jonathan Lindsey, R-Allen. “The president’s open-door policies have allowed an influx of illegal migrants, known terrorists and others who pose a threat to our national security and the safety of communities across the country.”
The Strong Borders, Safe Communities plan, recently introduced by Senate Republicans, seeks to curb the rise in fentanyl-related crimes and deaths and includes increasing penalties for the creation, production, delivery, or possession of fentanyl and calls on the president and Congress to immediately and fully resolve the ongoing border crisis.
Lindsey’s bill in the package, which the Democrat majority in the Senate refused to consider, would require every Michigan community to enforce federal immigration laws and end the practice of local governments declaring themselves “sanctuary cities.”
“Local governments across the country, including some in this state, have given themselves the entitlement of ignoring federal immigration laws and preventing federal immigration officials from doing their job,” Lindsey said. “These policies are overwhelming communities across the country and putting the safety of United States citizens at risk. This should have been a simple vote to protect the safety of residents and show them we hear their concerns.”
The mayor of Denver, a self-declared “sanctuary city,” has recently called for an additional $100 million to help with housing, schooling, and health care of more than 40,000 migrants that have been added to the city’s population of just over 700,000. The city of Chicago has also been overwhelmed by an influx of migrants as parks and community centers have been turned into shelters. The state of Illinois and the city of Chicago have appropriated nearly $800 million to provide services to address this issue.
“The governor has doubled down on her support for the president’s open-door policies by asking people to open their own homes to help with the ever-growing migrant population in this state,” Lindsey said. “This suggests to residents that it is once again their job to bear the burden of failed Democrat policies. We need to prevent this issue from taking hold of our state like it has in others and send a strong message that we will not be a safe haven for those who break our nation’s immigration laws.”
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