Arkansas bill would cut funding to sanctuary cities

February 27, 2019 at 12:52 a.m. | Updated February 27, 2019 at 12:52 a.m.

by Associated Press

In this June 2018 file photo, protesters walk along Montana Avenue outside the El Paso Processing Center in El Paso, Texas. Nearly 50 Democratic lawmakers called for a watchdog investigation of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2019, after the agency confirmed it had been force-feeding immigrant detainees on a hunger strike. On Thursday, all force-feeding at the detention center near the El Paso airport abruptly stopped after a U.S. district judge said the government had to stop involuntarily feeding two of the detained immigrants. (Rudy Gutierrez/The El Paso Times via AP)
In this June 2018 file photo, protesters walk along Montana Avenue outside the El Paso Processing Center in El Paso, Texas. Nearly 50 Democratic lawmakers called for a watchdog investigation of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2019, after the agency confirmed it had been force-feeding immigrant detainees on a hunger strike. On Thursday, all force-feeding at the detention center near the El Paso airport abruptly stopped after a U.S. district judge said the government had to stop involuntarily feeding two of the detained immigrants. (Rudy Gutierrez/The El Paso Times via AP)

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - An Arkansas lawmaker has again proposed legislation that would cut off state funding to cities that don't cooperate with federal immigration authorities, two years after similar efforts to punish "sanctuary" cities and college campuses stalled.

Republican Sen. Gary Stubblefield filed a proposal Tuesday that would cut off funding to cities that adopt sanctuary policies that restrict cooperating with federal immigration authorities or prevent law enforcement from asking about citizenship or immigration status. Stubblefield says he's working on amendments to the proposal, which he expects to take before a Senate panel next week.

Stubblefield introduced identical legislation in 2017, but the measure didn't advance after a House panel rejected a similar bill that would have blocked funding to colleges and universities that didn't cooperate with immigration authorities.

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