Michele Hoitenga

State Sen. Michele Hoitenga, R-Manton, who represents Northeast Michigan, joined another state senator in sending a letter on Thursday to the Democratic chair of the state Senate Committee on Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety, seeking a hearing on Senate Bills 724 and 725, which would ban so-called sanctuary cities and counties in Michigan.

“As you know, the past few weeks have presented several instances of violence and lawlessness in communities across the country that have labeled themselves as ‘sanctuaries’ for those looking to evade federal immigration law enforcement,” the letter states. “The elected officials that govern these cities, whether they be Denver, Chicago, or New York, are coming to the conclusion that refusing to enforce our immigration laws is having a disastrous effect on their communities, both from a safety and financial perspective.”

According to the Center for Immigration Studies, Michigan has five self-proclaimed sanctuary communities, including Lansing and Ingham, Kalamazoo, Kent, and Wayne counties.

In the letter, Hoitenga said both parties need to work together to avoid putting other cities at risk.

“By refusing to enforce immigration laws, these rogue communities are compromising our national security and putting the safety of Michigan residents and the financial stability of our entire state at risk,” said Hoitenga. “The Michigan Legislature has a duty to act in a bipartisan manner to keep our communities safe from the preventable violence and rampant drug trafficking streaming across Joe Biden’s open borders.”