State lawmakers across the country are ramping up efforts to either support or block theTrump administration's mass-deportation efforts,wading deeper into a policy arena that's long been the province of the federal government.
Whileimmigration enforcementis a federal power, states have many opportunities to either smooth the way or throw up roadblocks, particularly when it comes to being a "sanctuary" jurisdiction.
Lawmakers from across the political spectrum said theattention focused on immigrationby PresidentDonald Trumpand being executed byImmigration and Customs Enforcement officershas created a significant appetite for state-level action.
Behind the scenes of an ICE immigration arrest
In Republican-led states, White House officials have been working with legislative leaders to target sanctuary jurisdictions where local police won't cooperate with immigration agents.
They are also pushing state lawmakers to expand 287(g) programs allowing local police to take on limited immigration-enforcement authority, and requiring local sheriffs to hold onto suspected unauthorized immigrants until immigration enforcers can collect them from jail.
Republican states like Florida and Texas have long had expansive 287(g) programs, and the two states have for years collaborated with the federal government on immigration, in part due to their proximity to Mexico and the Gulf.
But now other non-border states are increasingly wading in, many of them led by Democrats, pushing plans to bar ICE agents from wearing anonymizing face masks, allow residents to sue agents in state court over civil rights violations, and further limit cooperation by local police and sheriffs.
Here are some of the proposals being considered as state legislatures begin their sessions.
Republican states collaborating with the White House
In Tennessee, Republican leaders have worked with the White House to craft a package of bills aimed at cutting off any state spending on unauthorized residents, in part by creating immigration checks for public school children. Under federal law, all children in the United States are entitled to a free public education, and migrant-rights groups say efforts to track citizenship might scare immigrant children into staying home.
The plans would also permit state and local police to detain truckers who can't immediately prove their lawful status, and stop offering drivers' license tests in any language but English.
Tennessee House leaders said they have consulted with Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, on how to make their proposals most effective.
"It's about making sure that those who are here legally, lawfully, have the access to the things they need to have access to and not be detrimental by the illegals coming in and doing that," House Speaker Cameron Sexton said.
For instance, the United States has a limited supply of public housing, Sexton said, and it should be reserved for people who are here legally.
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"You have people on the streets right now who are homeless who are here legally and lawfully," he said. "Can we answer how many illegals are in public housing in our state? Should we know that number? Because that's housing that could be for them, that they could have an opportunity."
In Iowa, legislators are considering Republican-backed bills to require greater cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration officers, and require state driver's licenses to display the holder's citizenship status.
Gov. Kim Reynolds has also floated a plan to make it harder for judges in criminal cases to release unauthorized immigrants on bond, potentially keeping them jailed no matter how serious the criminal charges.
Democratic states are pushing back against more aggressive immigration enforcement
In California, Democrats have proposed laws barring immigration agents from using state property, making it easier for people to sue federal immigration officers, and even blocking car rental companies from renting vehicles to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
In Oregon, Democratic lawmakers are considering plans to withhold state grants or contracts with private companies assisting ICE, and clarifying that the state will withhold tax payments to the federal government if the White House blocks federal funding to the state over its refusal to comply with Trump's demands.
In Colorado, Democrats who control the statehouse are considering a raft of bills to restrict operations by ICE officers, including further limiting information-sharing by state and local governments, and barring enforcement at sensitive locations such as hospitals.
"What I'm hearing is people want us to do everything we can to stand strong against this agency and this administration," said first-generation Iranian-American state Rep. Yara Zokaie, a Colorado Democrat.
Zokaie is drafting legislation that would also ban ICE agents from ever becoming local or state police officers.
She said she's been consulting with fellow legislative Democrats in other states to prepare model legislation, in much the same way the White House has been working with Republicans.
In any other year, such sweeping changes wouldn't have a chance of passing the state legislature, she said, but people are upset by what they see as over-reach by Trump's immigration enforcers.
"The state has immense power to take a stand against the federal government and to protect our constituents from the federal government," Zokaie said. "And it is because we have that power that Trump threatens to retaliate against us."
Contributing: Vivian Jones, USA TODAY Network
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:States take different approaches to immigration enforcement
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