Immigration enforcement is a federal issue, not a local or state one. Yet Senate File 124 would codify into Wyoming law a broad range of enforcement requirements to identify, report, detain and deport immigrants.
The ACLU of Wyoming opposes Senate File 124. The bill would require police to question the citizenship of all Wyomingites, would impose fines on anyone hiring or transporting undocumented immigrants and require county sheriffs to make agreements with federal agencies about the enforcement of federal immigration and customs laws.
Senate File 124 is not a solution to any problem. It is an attempt to scapegoat and terrorize vulnerable individuals and families already burdened by the difficulty of the federal immigration process while taking away local control from the people who know their communities best.
The following can be attributed to Antonio Serrano, ACLU of Wyoming advocacy director:
“Senate File 124 is an attack on Wyoming’s immigrant community and on the rights of all Wyomingites who count immigrants among their family members, neighbors, coworkers and friends. This harmful anti-immigrant bill is unconstitutional, xenophobic and will increase the unlawful racial profiling of Wyoming’s immigrant communities.
“This bill has nothing to do with making Wyoming a better place to live. It has nothing to do with keeping Wyomingites safe. In fact, it actively harms Wyomingites and criminalizes people who interact with immigrants. As neighbors, business owners, taxpayers, and workers, immigrants are an integral part of Wyoming’s diverse and thriving communities and make extensive contributions that benefit all. Instead of developing balanced, common-sense pathways to legally integrate immigrants and their families in the state, some of our legislators would rather align themselves with an inhumane agenda that seeks to detain, deport, and destroy.”
Senate File 124 is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee upon the noon recess today.
About the ACLU of Wyoming
The American Civil Liberties Union of Wyoming is a non-partisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of civil liberties and civil rights. The ACLU of Wyoming is part of a three-state chapter that also includes North Dakota and South Dakota. The team in Wyoming is supported by staff in those states.
The ACLU believes freedoms of press, speech, assembly, and religion, and the rights to due process, equal protection and privacy, are fundamental to a free people. In addition, the ACLU seeks to advance constitutional protections for groups traditionally denied their rights, including people of color, women, and the LGBTQ communities. The ACLU of Wyoming carries out its work through selective litigation, lobbying at the state and local level, and through public education and awareness of what the Bill of Rights means for the people of Wyoming.
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