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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | May 22, 2023 04:01 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Jose Giral and Rep. Manuel Guzman, Jr., Rep. Danilo Burgos, Rep. Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz, Rep. Christopher M. Rabb, Rep. Sara Innamorato, Rep. Joseph C. Hohenstein, Rep. Tarik Khan |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Establishing the Police and Community Safety Act |
| Forcing local police agencies to devote resources to immigration enforcement simultaneously makes it harder for them to investigate crimes and wastes taxpayer money. For example, immigration detention in North Carolina cost taxpayers at least $7.4 million in 2017, and Georgia spent $9 million on detaining immigrants. Cash-strapped police agencies are forced to spend this money with insufficient reimbursement. Further, witnesses and victims who are in the country with no or expired documentation are less likely to come forward and help with criminal investigations if they are at risk of being detained, deported, and separated from their families. When local governments lose the power to tackle crime in a way that best serves their communities, their law enforcement officers are prevented from upholding their oath to protect and serve the families and neighborhoods that rely on them. That is why we are reintroducing legislation (formerly HB 1604) that would prohibit law enforcement from spending their resources on immigration enforcement efforts. It would also prohibit public or private postsecondary institutions in Pennsylvania from enacting or enforcing discriminatory immigration enforcement policies. Under the bill, the Office of Attorney General would support both law enforcement and schools by developing model policies for them to implement and follow. By more effectively and efficiently directing the state’s limited resources to the protection of the public, we can improve trust between police officers and the communities they serve. Please join us in supporting effective, efficient policing by signing on to this proposal. |
Introduced as HB1548