FILE – This undated photo provided by the San Francisco Police Department shows Juan Francisco Lopez Sanchez. A San Francisco judge is set to hear evidence in a shooting at a city pier that became a flashpoint in the national immigration debate because the suspect was released from jail despite a request from federal immigration authorities to keep him locked up. Sanchez is due in court on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015, for a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence to try him on a murder charge in the July slaying of 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle. Sanchez has pleaded not guilty. (San Francisco Police Department via AP, File)
BOSTON – State Rep. John Velis (D-Westfield) is hoping to keep a bill from going before his colleagues.
The bill, sponsored by Boston Rep. Evandro Carvalho, would make Massachusetts a sanctuary state.
“This would prohibit local law enforcement from alerting the federal immigration division – ICE – to criminal activity by illegal immigrants,” said Velis.
Velis said being in the country illegally is breaking the law as it is, and not reporting illegal activity by an illegal immigrant is against the law.
“We can’t give legal protection to people who commit crimes and are here illegally,” said Velis. “What ICE decides to do with that information is up to them.”
Velis said there are already sanctuary cities across the United States and he noted that a recent murder in San Francisco was committed by an illegal immigrant who was not deported because San Francisco is a sanctuary city.
“This bill is to make Massachusetts a sanctuary state,” he said. “This is not anti-immigration on my part. This is anti-criminal.”
Velis is a member of the Judiciary Committee and listened to testimony Wednesday at the State House where many people spoke in favor of the bill, and others spoke against it. The next step is for the committee to debate the bill and vote it up or down.
“I’m going to do everything I can to defeat this bill,” he said.
Velis is the only western Massachusetts official on the Judiciary Committee and he said he hopes his local colleagues never have the opportunity to vote on the bill. He said it will be “an uphill battle” to get it voted down.
“I hope it never sees the light of day,” he said, adding he expects a vote in the next month.
Immigration activists are pressing state lawmakers to pass the legislation. They say the bill would help bolster trust between immigrant communities and local police officials, help keep families together and provide basic due process protections.
