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Tags: burt jones | newsmax | laken riley | georgia | sanctuary | cities

Georgia Lt Gov to Newsmax: 'Reckless' Sanctuary Cities on Notice

By    |   Friday, 08 March 2024 02:31 PM EST

Proposed legislation to hold leaders of Georgia's cities which insist on considering themselves as sanctuary cities, despite a law that banned the designation, will be held personally responsible when immigrants living illegally in the United States commit a crime, such as in the murder of nursing student Laken Riley, who died in Athens, Georgia, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones told Newsmax on Friday. 

"We outlawed sanctuary cities back in 2019," the Republican official said on "National Report." "We do have a few cities like Athens [whose] elected officials have claimed that they are sanctuary cities. We're putting something in place that is going to hold them personally responsible."

Further, said Jones, the officials will not "have a sovereign immunity as an elected official."

"If all these bleeding heart politicians like we have in Athens, Georgia, want to continue down this reckless road, we're going to hold them personally accountable, and we're not going to allow taxpayers to defend their actions," said Jones. "We're going to put it on their dime and see how much they want to stand behind these positions long term."

The law being advanced by the Georgia Senate Public Safety Committee would cost local jurisdictions who declare themselves as being "sanctuary cities" state taxpayer money, reported The Center Square.

Athens Mayor Kelly Girtz, however, told Fox 5 in Atlanta that Athens is not a sanctuary city, as it has to prove every year it is not breaking the law after the statewide ban. 

In 2019, the city council passed a resolution to welcome immigrants of "all statuses," but in recent weeks insisted the resolution does not hinder law enforcement. 

Riley, 22, a nursing student at the Augusta University College of Nursing, was found beaten to death on the University of Georgia campus on Feb. 22 after she went out for a run. Venezuelan immigrant Jose Antonio Ibarra, who was in the U.S. illegally, has been arrested on murder and assault charges in connection to her death.

Meanwhile, the U.S. House on Thursday passed the Laken Riley Act, which calls to deport immigrants who commit crimes, but Jones said he does not believe the Senate will pass the legislation into law. 

"I don't have a lot of confidence in what in anything going on in D.C., and a lot of it has to do with the leadership you have in the White House," he said. "I'm proud of my congressman who brought this bill forward, Mike Collins."

He also said it is a tragedy that Riley's murder happened, as "it could have been avoided," and now it is a national story and a "direct reflection of the policies that are in place or the lack of enforcement that are in place at the border."

"The president ought to be ashamed of himself and anybody who's defending his immigration policies or lack of immigration policies should be ashamed of themselves," said Jones. "The sad part is it's become a political football."

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Sandy Fitzgerald

Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics. 

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Proposed legislation to hold leaders of Georgia's cities which insist on considering themselves as sanctuary cities, despite a law that banned the designation, will be held personally responsible when immigrants living illegally in the United States commit a crime, such as ...
burt jones, newsmax, laken riley, georgia, sanctuary, cities
542
2024-31-08
Friday, 08 March 2024 02:31 PM
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