LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Immigrants who live in Kentucky are concerned about a bill in Frankfort that would prevent any cities from becoming sanctuaries, which are zones of protection from federal immigration agents.
Republican state senators have made the bill their top priority this general assembly, as "Senate Bill 1.
"Our legislature should be about dealing with real problems that exist and tackling the problems that already confront us. Instead they're dealing with a phony issue which has no legislative purpose, and yet it's going to have a legislative impact," Ron Russell, an immigration attorney from Louisville said Monday night.
He's one of several immigration advocates speaking out, saying the bill, if passed, would create a culture of fear.
"We're going to hound dog it at every step of the way because it is an absolutely draconian bill that should not see the light of day," David Horvath said.
Horvath, with the Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Justice, was part of the effort in organizing a panel discussion on SB1 Monday night. The panel included lawyers, faith representatives, and other community leaders. They met at the Guiding Light Islamic Center to discuss the impact they say the bill will have on the state's immigrant population.
"We are most concerned about the divisiveness that's appeared in society, especially the Islamophobia that's cropped up," Dr. Neyman, the director of the Salaam Network, said. "We really need to make sure that people in the community understand the ramifications of not just the legal part, but how it affects the day to day lives of people who are recognized as possibly being new to this country."
The Salaam Network also coordinated the panel discussion. It said the goal was to create community discussion about concerns regarding SB1.
"I'm a retired teacher and I'm most concerned about how young children can be traumatized by their parents who are worried about are they going to be taken by the police, or taken by immigration authorities without having a chance to say goodbye to their children," Dr. Neyman said.
The bill's sponsors have said it aims to ban any sanctuary cities or sanctuary policies in Kentucky. But if it becomes the law of the land, some say it'll create a culture of fear.
"People of color, brown and black skinned people, will be more fearful that they will be racially profiled or they will be singled out in some way as questionable in terms of their citizenship papers or whatever. Basically, people will be allowed to turn those people in," Horvath said. "People are fearful of immigrants because they associate them with drugs or gangs, and other sorts of things, separating good immigrants from bad immigrants, and so that fear is upon us all because of this ill-suited legislation."
"They're playing the immigrant card. They want to stir up hatred, distrust, dislike of immigrants, and that's the purpose of the legislation," Ron Russell said.
Russell, an immigration attorney in Louisville for about 32 years, said Monday night the bill will prevent immigrants or refugees from coming to the area.
"They will likely be able to deport potentially quite a few people and permanent residents and even naturalized citizens could get caught up in that process too," he said.
RELATED: Proposed bill would ban sanctuary cities in Kentucky, require enforcement of immigration laws
"Anybody that looks slightly different from the majority culture in Kentucky will be potential targets for people that will be dismissive of them perhaps and not realize the contributions of our immigrants throughout history of the United States," Dr. Neyman said. "This is a land of immigrants and we need to hold up the contributions of immigrants."
The lead sponsor of the bill, Republican Senator Danny Carroll has said if passed, the law wouldn't impact any day to day operations regarding immigration as they currently are right now in the state.
Supporters of the bill also say it will ensure cooperation in enforcing federal immigration laws.
The group of immigration advocates have planned another panel discussion, with some change in speakers, for Monday, Feb. 10 at 6:30 p.m., held at the Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church on Brownsboro Road.
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