Georgia Lawmaker Says Federal Funds Should Not Go to Sanctuary Colleges
Leah Jessen /
A Georgia state lawmaker said “sanctuary” college campuses should not receive taxpayer dollars.
“It’s a simple equation: If you don’t follow the law, the state funds are not going to follow you,” Georgia state Rep. Earl Ehrhart, R-Powder Springs, told Ainsley Earhardt and Pete Hegseth on “Fox & Friends.”
“Lawbreaking 101 is a new course I guess at some of these schools. … In Georgia, we already have a law against sanctuary cities, and I guess we need a law against sanctuary campuses,” Ehrhart said Friday on the cable news show.
Around the nation, students and professors at some colleges have proposed that their campus become a “sanctuary campus,” shielding illegal immigrant students from deportation laws. Some college presidents have even declared their campus as a safe haven for illegal immigrants.
Students and faculty at Emory University, a private university in Georgia, are petitioning to make their college one of these safe havens, Fox News Insider reported.
“We urgently demand concrete actions by Emory University to protect all students—especially our undocumented students at the college and in graduate programs,” the petition says.
The petition’s list of demands includes legal support and financial aid resources for illegal immigrant students.
Emory’s president says the school is reviewing a proposal to become a sanctuary campus.
Ehrhart, the state representative, supports legislation to block federal funds going to sanctuary campuses.
Private institutions, like Emory, still receive some state taxpayer dollars, going toward state grants for students.
“This lawmaker is correct,” Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation, told The Daily Signal. “Sanctuary policies are intended to obstruct federal immigration laws and are a sign of contempt for the rule of law.”
“Such campuses shouldn’t receive federal funds anymore than campuses that violate civil rights statutes,”
—@HvonSpakovsky
“Such campuses should not receive federal funds any more than campuses that violate federal civil rights statutes,” von Spakovsky added.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, has threatened to defund sanctuary campuses as well.