American Civil Liberties Union of Wyoming opposes two bill drafts sponsored by local lawmakers

(Cheyenne, WY) – The American Civil Liberties Union of Wyoming is opposing a locally sponsored legislative bill draft that would prohibit the implementation of immigration sanctuary policies by cities, towns, counties, and the state.

Wyoming Rep. Joel Guggenmos, R-Riverton, is the main sponsor of House Bill 133, which was approved by the House Corporations, Elections, and Political Subdivisions Committee on Friday and placed on General File in the Wyoming House of Representatives for further consideration this week.

“This bill ensures uniform enforcement of federal immigration laws across Wyoming,” Guggenmos said when he presented the bill on Friday. “It promotes cooperation between local governments, state employees, and federal authorities to safeguard public safety and uphold the rules of law.”

HB 133 requires the state to withhold funding from government entities that violate the proposed new rule, and it subjects local officials and employees to felony charges if they don’t cooperate with federal officials or law enforcement officers “with regard to reporting immigration status information,” according to the bill.

“By penalizing noncompliance and restricting the misuse of public funds for sanctuary purposes, the bill prioritizes accountability and transparency,” Guggenmos said. “Its swift implementation will strengthen Wyoming’s commitment to secure and lawful governance.”

As of yet, there are no government entities in Wyoming that have implemented or considered implementing sanctuary policies, Guggenmos noted, but “it’s always good to do preemptive measures to prevent it from becoming a problem.”

“As I look at other states, this is becoming a problem,” he said. “We have a neighboring state, actually, that is going through this, and because of that, (the) problem and the effects of the problem are spilling over into our state currently. So I’m just trying to take preemptive measures to keep this from becoming a big issue in Wyoming.”

Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray expressed support for HB 133 during Friday’s meeting, recalling that lawmakers have proposed similar bills in the past, all of which have failed passage in the Legislature.

“I think it is very important that we get this done,” Gray said. “It will be a tool in the toolkit for ensuring that we have compliance with the law in Wyoming. … We have to be vigilant, and I think this bill is a great vehicle to do it.”

He did suggest an amendment that would allow individual citizens to enforce the proposed new law, however, explaining that “there might not be compliance (in) enforcement” by local prosecutors in some counties.

“I think a civil cause of action is an important addition,” Gray said. 

The committee didn’t consider Gray’s amendment last week, but lawmakers noted that additional changes to HB 133 could be proposed on the House Floor.

Opposition

Two people spoke in opposition to HB 133 during last week’s committee meeting: ACLU of Wyoming Advocacy Director Antonio Serrano and Campbell County Commissioner Jim Ford, who was also representing the Wyoming County Commissioners Association. 

The WCCA isn’t opposed to “the sentiment expressed” in HB 133, Ford explained, but they do “take offense that the penalty provisions appear to be unnecessarily harsh and focused only on local governments.”

He proposed removing the penalty provisions in the bill, which he called “unnecessary for local compliance,” since “no county commission has ever, or ever intends to, establish a sanctuary county policy” – but the committee did not consider that suggestion last week.

The ACLU of Wyoming said it opposes HB 133 because the proposal would restrict local governments’ “right (to) make decisions about how to use taxpayer money and protect their residents.”

“Local governments should not face reprisals for focusing on local community needs and using taxpayer money responsibly instead of helping to deport and detain community members,” the press release states. “Immigration enforcement is a federal issue, not a local or state one, and federal law does not require cities to help with immigration enforcement.”

Driver’s licenses

Serrano referred to another piece of locally sponsored legislation as an “anti-immigrant” bill in an email last week: House Bill 116 – Driver’s licenses-unauthorized alien restrictions.

Wyoming Rep. Pepper Ottman, R-Riverton, is the main sponsor on HB 116, which specifies that “driver’s licenses … issued by other jurisdictions to unauthorized aliens are invalid in Wyoming.”

The bill has already passed the Wyoming House of Representatives and was received for introduction in the Wyoming Senate last week. 

“This is good policy,” Ottman said when she presented the bill to the House Corporations Committee earlier this month. “In the last several years we have seen the rise of sanctuary cities and sanctuary states becoming a haven for illegal immigrants. Some have announced, planned, and even implemented their own state legislation to allow what they have deemed unauthorized immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses. … Now it is time for states like Wyoming to fight back by affirmatively recognizing and codifying under Wyoming law that driver’s license documents issued to illegal aliens are not recognized as valid credentials under Wyoming law.”

Gray expressed support for HB 116 during the committee meeting, too, calling it a “very important part” of the ongoing effort to provide a “a clear statement, as a state, that driver’s licenses issued to illegal immigrants are not valid for any purpose” in Wyoming, including for voter registration and voter identification.

“We are working on this issue from a number of different angles,” Gray said. “We have considerable catchup in Wyoming on this. … It’s a long time coming.”

The ACLU of Wyoming is a “non-partisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of civil liberties and civil rights,” according to their press release.