Under a bill moving toward passage in the Louisiana State Legislature, sheriffs’ deputies and other local law enforcement agents could face jail or prison time and heavy fines for failing to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
On Monday (May 12), the Louisiana State Senate voted overwhelmingly to approve Senate Bill 15, which, if passed, would authorize prison sentences of up to 10 years for local officials who do not fully and proactively assist with immigration enforcement.
If SB 15 were to become law, it would directly conflict with immigration policies adopted by the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office and, potentially, the New Orleans Police Department, both of which are under federal orders to limit their cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal immigration agencies.
“This bill, if it passes, would basically say that [Orleans Parish Sheriff] Susan Hutson would be in criminal malfeasance in office,” Will Harrell, a spokesperson for the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, said in a phone interview Tuesday.
Louisiana already has a law, passed last year, that prohibits local agencies from adopting policies against cooperating fully and proactively with immigration enforcement. Last year, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, an immigration hardliner, worked with Republican lawmakers in the state to pass Act 314 — enacted through Senate Bill 208, sponsored by Sen. Blake Miguez, R-New Iberia — which prohibits “so-called sanctuary city policies” that block cooperation with federal immigration enforcement agents.
That’s a civil law, carrying no jail time for failure to comply. But SB 15, which calls for individual sheriffs and deputies to lose their freedom, represents a dramatic escalation in the state’s crusade against so-called “sanctuary cities.”
“This is part of a national movement to intimidate local leaders from Democratic-led cities that have been more sympathetic or more willing to addressing the immigration challenge in a humane way,” said Sen. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, who voted against the bill on Monday.
Under the bill, it would be a misdemeanor under the state obstruction of justice law to “hinder, delay, prevent, or otherwise interfere with or thwart federal immigration enforcement efforts.” Penalties for members of the public would be up to a year in jail. But the bill would also apply to public officials — even those acting in compliance with their agencies’ policies — who would face up to six months behind bars and $1,000 in fines.
It’s not clear whether that would affect NOPD, which has a policy strictly limiting when officers are authorized to assist ICE. The policy was adopted in 2016 with sign-off from the U.S. Department of Justice, as part of the 2013 federal consent decree over the department. Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s office and the NOPD both declined to comment for this article.
Another provision in the bill is aimed squarely at local sheriff’s offices, which are responsible for operating most local jails in the state. SB 15 would also make it a 10-year felony, under a state law against public malfeasance, for local jailers to refuse to hold jail detainees past their release dates when requested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Though he did not name Hutson or any other New Orleans official when the bill came up in a committee hearing last week, SB 15 sponsor Sen. Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, said it is aimed at forcing local law enforcement to comply with ICE detainer requests.
“There’ve been quotes from elected officials that said they will not comply with ICE,” Morris said in a judiciary committee meeting earlier this month.
Morris did not respond to an interview request.
Except for a few limited circumstances where a detainee is accused of a particularly serious crime, complying with such requests is currently prohibited by an Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office policy adopted more than a decade ago as part of a legal settlement. (The state recently asked a federal judge to rule the policy unlawful and order it dissolved. The judge has yet to rule on the request.)
In a December interview with Fox 8 News, Hutson was quoted saying that while she intends to comply with the law, she “cannot do ICE’s work … It’s too big of a load.”
During Senate floor debate on Monday, Duplessis and Sen. Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge, expressed concern over the apparent conflict between Hutson’s obligations under state law and the court settlement.
Responding to those concerns on Monday, Morris said OPSO offered up an amendment that would carve out an exception for government agencies under federal consent orders that limit their compliance with ICE. That amendment was introduced by Sen. Barrow. Morris said he discussed the exception with state Attorney General Liz Murrill — also an immigration hardliner — and decided it would “gut the bill.”
SB 15 passed without the amendment by a vote of 28-10. It has been transferred to the state House of Representatives for debate. As of Wednesday afternoon (May 14), it had not yet been scheduled for a House committee hearing.
While in committee last year, Miguez said that SB 208 would not conflict with federal consent orders in Orleans Parish. However in February, Murrill petitioned in legal filings to become part of the long-settled 2011 federal civil rights case in an effort to toss the consent judgement and the OPSO policy, claiming that they are now in direct conflict with the newly passed state law. A federal court in New Orleans is considering whether to allow the state to become a party to the case.
