A bill barring so-called sanctuary cities, the subject of a mass protest on the Capitol Square last Thursday, could be stalled in the state Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said Friday that “no member has indicated it [Assembly Bill 450] is a top priority,” creating doubt about whether the body will take it up in its March floor session.
The bill would ban state funding to local governments that don’t require law enforcement to question a person’s citizenship status. It was one of the focal points of the 20,000 person “Day Without Latinos” protest last Thursday.
The protesters also objected to another bill, Senate Bill 533, which would ban the issuance of photo identification cards that citizens can show police.
State Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, the co-author of AB 450, pushed for a floor vote in a statement released Monday.
“It would be a terrible mistake for the Senate to avoid addressing this public safety issue,” Nass said in the release.
State Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Cedarburg, another supporter of the bill, said the measure should be a priority in order to address a potential public safety concern.
“The safety of Wisconsinites should be our top priority on our last floor date,” Stroebel said in a statement. “I call on my fellow senators to work with the Senate author and co-sponsors to pass this bill.”
A representative for the Kenosha sector of Voces de la Frontera, the group that planned the “Day Without Latinos” protest, stated they are “waiting to see what happens March 15th” before proclaiming the bill’s demise.
The organization plans to continue to talk to communities and cities to decide what the next steps are to stop “the anti-immigration local proposal.”
The state Senate will next meet in March for what could be its last floor period of the session.
