Red state GOP moves to hit coastal cities in pocketbook with debt legislation

Georgia Republicans are introducing a bill to hold sanctuaries financially accountable for damages and crimes committed by illegal immigrants.

Almost two years since nursing student Laken Riley was killed by an illegal immigrant at the University of Georgia, Rep. Houston Gaines, a state Republican, said the bill would help hold local governments’ “legs” when they refuse to enforce the law.

“You’ve seen these problems all over the country, in Minneapolis, Los Angeles…

Gaines, who is running for Congress from the district where Riley was killed, is one of six Republicans who sponsored the bill. The state already prohibits sanctuary policies at the local level. If passed, the measure would allow citizens to help undermine authorities trying to overturn Georgia’s ban by allowing property and business owners to seek financial compensation from local governments for damages caused by sanctuary-style immigration policies.

Under the bill, property owners and leaseholders can seek compensation from properties that adopt a “policy, pattern, or practice” of failing to comply with state immigration enforcement laws, refusing to enforce laws against activities such as illegal public camping or shoplifting, or allowing a public nuisance that damages property.

Gaines said that while Georgia doesn’t immediately come to mind when thinking of sanctuary cities, cities like Atlanta and Athens, where Riley was killed, have previously been lax.

“Georgia is a red state, but we have green energy,” he explained. “I get calls all the time in Athens of a business or a family being woken up in their front yard or a business that had someone break into overnight. There are all kinds of problems where those local governments are frankly not doing their job and not enforcing the law.”

“What we are doing here is to make sure that people across the region know that if the local government is not doing their job, it is time for the state to stand up and make sure that they do, and the way to do that is to pay them in the pocket.”

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Jose Ibarra, left, was found guilty of 10 counts in the death of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, right. (Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool)

Georgia is not the first state to take such a step. In 2024, Arizona voters approved a proposal to allow property owners to apply for property tax refunds if their local city, town, or county fails to enforce certain public nuisance laws and the owner receives written costs as a result. Georgia’s bill, however, would allow citizens to file directly for reimbursement through lawsuits.

Gaines said the purpose of this bill is to act as a deterrent in free zones given the lack of enforcement of the law.

“Our aim here is not that all these refunds happen, it is that the local governments strengthen the law that is on the books,” he said. “When the local area receives complaints, it cleans up and fixes what they’re doing wrong so you don’t see repeated complaints.”

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A view of the Atlanta skyline over Piedmont Park. (Stock)

Gaines said he believes his bill could serve as a model for other states.

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“I would encourage other states to do this because it’s something that I believe will work and will hold local governments accountable if they fail to enforce their laws and put their citizens in dangerous situations … that’s what we’re trying to avoid with this law.”

Gaines is running to replace Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., who is running for the US Senate.

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