A bill requiring state agencies to notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when a person is identified as a non-citizen has cleared another hurdle and now moves to the House floor.
The bill also demands that the state cut off any federal or state assistance if the person is confirmed as a non-citizen.
“Most of this already exists on the federal level, so these agencies already have to check for eligibility which in that process, citizenship is one of them,” said bill sponsor Rep. Chance Henry, R-Crowley, addressing opposition concerns. “These agencies have the ability to cross check these databases anyhow.”
The House Appropriations Committee was the second step for the bill after it passed the House Judiciary Committee in late April by a 10-5 party-line vote. This time, the bill faced no objections.
House Bill 307 requires state agencies and political subdivisions to verify the citizenship or immigration status of anyone applying for federal, state, or local public assistance—such as food stamps, housing vouchers, or Medicaid—unless federal law forbids it.
“This is mainly making sure our tax dollars only go to citizens of the United States,” Henry said.
If an applicant lacks U.S. citizenship or legal immigration status after verification, the agency must end their public benefits and report their information to ICE, according to the bill.
The law also requires each agency to submit an annual report detailing how many individuals were reported to ICE and how many had their benefits revoked. These reports must be sent to top state officials, including the governor, Senate president, House speaker, secretary of state, and the David R. Poynter Legislative Research Library.
The bill defines what counts as public benefits, outlines verification steps, and sets reporting duties for state and local entities administering these programs.
An amendment added in the House Judiciary Committee included the secretary of state among the recipients of the annual reports.
