Senate bill seeking to strip governmental immunity from ‘sanctuary cities’ passes committee

by Maya Homan, Georgia Recorder
February 5, 2025

Under what circumstances can a Georgia resident sue their local government for crimes committed by another person?

Under Senate Bill 21, which passed out of the chamber’s Public Safety Committee Wednesday, the answer may depend on the immigration status of the person in question. 

The bill, sponsored by Vidalia Republican Sen. Blake Tillery, would build on a 2024 immigration bill known as House Bill 1105 that sought to punish local governments that failed to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. Tillery’s bill would go even further, stripping local government agencies of their sovereign and governmental immunities from lawsuits in the event that an undocumented person commits a crime.

At the Senate Public Safety Committee hearing where the bill was discussed, Tillery argued that SB 21 would ensure that Georgia’s existing immigration laws are properly enforced.

“All that Senate Bill 21 says is if a local government or a local government official does not enforce Georgia immigration law, that they waive their sovereign immunity and are open to civil suit from anything that may fall from not following Georgia law,” he said.

However, skeptics of the bill pointed out that the new legislation could have wide-reaching consequences for members of law enforcement, educators and other government employees. The bill could also lead to an increase in legal action against local government agencies at a time when policies aimed at limiting lawsuits have been Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s top priority.

Mike Mitchell, who serves as deputy executive director of the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association, declined to endorse the bill, expressing doubts about the need for further legislation so soon after the passage of HB 1105. Last year’s measure took effect in May 2024, meaning that local law enforcement agencies have until May 2025 to enter into memorandums of understanding with federal law enforcement agencies.

“With House Bill 1105 last year, a lot of these mandates are already in place — in fact, they’re criminalized,” he said. “The sheriffs are already adhering to those standards, and they also have to report annually to the Department of Audits that they’re in compliance with those mandates.”

Senate Democrats also pushed back against the bill, arguing that it may open up public school employees to excessive lawsuits for failing to divulge their students’ immigration status to authorities.

“What I think I’m hearing you say is that if we were to pass this law as it is written, because our sanctuary laws are so broad, the teacher who chooses not to reveal to ICE that that child, or that child’s parents is undocumented, that could be considered having sanctuary for that child and therefore make them in violation of that law,” said Sen. Kim Jackson, a Stone Mountain Democrat.

Opponents of the bill, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Georgia Policy Director Megan Gordon, also raised concerns about how teachers and school administrators would navigate any conflicts that arise between state and federal law. Under a landmark 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision, states cannot deny students access to public education based on their immigration status, which Gordon said would conflict with the wording of SB 21.

“​​These laws are mutually exclusive,” she said. “But also, the Supreme Court interpretation of the constitutional rights of children will trump state law every single time, which is something that I think this committee discounted.” 

SB 21 passed in a 5-3 vote along party lines. It now goes to the Senate for a floor vote.

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