GOP pushes to hold sanctuary jurisdictions’ ‘feet to the fire’ in state where Laken Riley was killed

By Fox News · Fox News

Georgia Republicans are introducing a bill to hold sanctuary jurisdictions financially accountable for damage and crimes committed by illegal immigrants. Nearly two years since nursing student Laken Riley was killed by an illegal immigrant at the University of Georgia, Republican state Rep. Houston Gaines said the bill would help hold local governments’ "feet to the fire" when they refuse to enforce the law. "You've seen these issues all across the country, in Minneapolis , certainly in Los Angeles … where you have really liberal local governments that just simply aren't enforcing the law, and so we're going to put an end to it here in Georgia," he said in an interview with Fox News Digital. Gaines, who is running for Congress represents the district where Riley was killed, is one of six Republicans co-sponsoring the bill. The state already bans sanctuary policies at the local level. If passed, the measure would allow citizens to help crack down on jurisdictions attempting to subvert Georgia’s ban by enabling property and business owners to seek financial compensation from local governments for damages caused by sanctuary-style immigration policies. GEORGIA REPUBLICANS HAMMER OSSOFF OVER SILENCE AFTER ICE DETAINER IN ALLEGED CHILD RAPE CASE Under the bill, property owners and leaseholders can claim compensation from jurisdictions that adopt a "policy, pattern, or practice" of failing to comply with state immigration enforcement laws, declining to enforce laws against activities such as illegal public camping or shoplifting, or allowing a public nuisance that harms the property. Gaines said that while Georgia does not come immediately to mind when thinking of sanctuary jurisdictions, cities such as Atlanta and Athens, where Riley was killed, have previously been lax in enforcement. "Georgia is a red state, but we do have blue jurisdictions," he explained. "I get calls all the time in Athens of a business or a family who's woken up to someone in their front yard or a…