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Designating any town or county a “sanctuary city” for immigrants is banned in Wyoming, as of Tuesday.
Before the signing, experts in favor of and against the bill said it wouldn’t do much.
Earlier in the legislative session, Teton County Sheriff Matt Carr said the bill would not change any of his tactics as he felt his practices were already within the law and in-line with the bill.
Teton County has never pursued sanctuary status nor has any governing body in the state.
Others like Communications Director Janna Farley said the bill was always intended to send a message rather than change any policy.
“It’s not going to do anything to make Wyoming better,” Farley said. “All it does is make immigrants feel less welcome.”
The Wyoming Chapter of the ACLU has opposed the bill since introduction.
Farley added that the bill could infringe on the rights of departments to determine their own policies.
“Wyoming municipalities have always had the right to make decisions about how to use taxpayer money and to protect their residents, but House Bill 133, now law, eliminates that right.”
For his part, Carr has reversed course when it comes to honoring hold requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement without judicial warrants.
He previously said doing so risked violating the Fourth Amendment, a protection against unreasonable search and seizure but announced a change in policy earlier this month.
Allen Thompson, executive director of the Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police said, from his understanding, most sheriffs across the state took no issue with House Bill 133 though his organization testified against other bills that would have mandated local partnerships with ICE.
This one, Thompson said, most departments felt they could comply with.
By the time Gov. Mark Gordon signed House Bill 133 last week, it was a watered-down version of the original draft, penned by Rep. Joel Guggenmos, a Riverton Republican.
The first iteration of the bill would have subjected law enforcement to a $20,000 fine, up to 10 years in prison or both, if found not cooperative with federal immigration agencies or declaring sanctuary status.
The version Gordon signed added civil penalties for local law enforcement instead of felonies.
