“No funds for you.” – Rep. Earl Ehrhart

As the inauguration of Donald Trump approaches, the push for sanctuary cities for illegal immigrants at colleges and universities around the country is intensifying, but that isn’t stopping state legislators from doing everything they can to stop such actions.

House Bill 37, already being pushed by four legislators, was filed Wednesday. Republicans Terry England, Greg Morris, and Chuck Williams joined sponsor Earl Ehrhart in backing legislation to block the enforcement of any sanctuary policies at private colleges and universities in Georgia.

The bill would prohibit a private institution from enacting, adopting, implementing, or enforcing sanctuary policies while also revoking any eligible state funding, or state-administered federal funding, the private institution may receive should the institution be found to be enacting or enforcing such policies. The bill specifically includes loans, grants, and scholarships on the list of funding that can be revoked. In Georgia, that could amount to tens of millions of dollars for schools like Emory, Mercer, SCAD, Morehouse, Brewton Parker, and many more.

HB 37 defines “sanctuary policy” as “any regulation, rule, policy, or practice adopted or administered by a private post-secondary institution which prohibits or restricts officials or employees of such private post-secondary institution from communicating or cooperating with federal officials or law enforcement officers with regard to reporting status information while such official or employee is acting within the scope of his or her official duties at such private post-secondary institution.”

Representative Earlhart is no stranger to the threats of revoked funding for public or private institutions. The chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on Higher Education led the charge on investigations and tribunals for those facing sexual assault allegations on campus and threatened to pull funding for colleges who didn’t provide due process under the law.

I’m just sitting here wondering why private institutions need to receive any state or federal funding in the first place.

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