Small Business Administration would have to relocate field offices from ‘sanctuary jurisdictions’ under House-passed bill

The House on Thursday passed legislation that would require the Small Business Administration to relocate its regional, district and local offices in "sanctuary jurisdictions.” 

“President Trump is taking action to restore the rule of law with executive orders that stop the federal subsidization of areas that refuse to comply with immigration laws. This legislation, in part, codifies those efforts and the work already done at the SBA,” said House Small Business Committee Chairman Roger Williams, R-Texas, during floor debate on Thursday. 

SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler in March announced that the agency would relocate its regional offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, New York City and Seattle over the cities’ immigration enforcement policies. 

The Save SBA from Sanctuary Cities Act (H.R. 2931) would define a sanctuary jurisdiction as any state or city that has a policy that restricts officials from communicating with another governmental entity information about an individual’s citizenship or immigration status or from complying with a request by the Homeland Security Department to detain, or notify about the release of, a migrant.

The bill passed in a 211-199 mostly party-line vote. 

“This bill doesn’t fix anything,” said Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., the ranking member of the Small Business panel, during floor debate. “It adds more confusion and disruption for the people we are supposed to be helping. It wastes taxpayers’ dollars to carry out a political agenda, and it ignores the real economic challenges small businesses are facing.”

Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, Don Davis, D-N.C., Laura Gillen, D-N.Y., Jared Golden, D-Maine, and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., voted for the legislation. All of them are considered to be more moderate lawmakers. 

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y. — who serves New York City’s Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn — as well as Reps. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., and David Valadao, R-Calif.,, voted against the bill. New York City and California are respectively considered to be a sanctuary city and state. 

Since the start of his second term, the Trump administration has touted Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids to detain undocumented immigrants, which is an integral component of the president’s plans for mass deportations.