The sanctuary community battle is ramping up – both on the local and national stages. Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill Sunday, instituting a statewide ban on sanctuary cities – a move met by protests going on at the capitol throughout Monday.
Here at home, a bill on Beacon Hill seeks to do just the opposite – designating Massachusetts a sanctuary state. So far, Governor Charlie Baker is not on board, but Massachusetts lawmakers also held a hearing Monday on two other immigration issues. One bill would ban sheriffs and correction officials from using state money to carry out federal immigration functions. The other would bar the use of local prison labor on out-of-state projects – like President Donald Trump’s border wall.
Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson, an outspoken critic of sanctuary cities who offered to have some of his prisoners build the wall, and Representative Antonio Cabral, who filled today’s bills, joined Jim for a discussion on where the state immigration debate goes from here.
