Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall speaks at a press conference on the Appropriations Committee in Lansing, on Jan. 14. (Anna Liz Nichols/Michigan Advance)

LANSING — Michigan House Republicans last week proposed a rule that would deprive local governments from receiving discretionary state budget funding unless they pledge to cooperate with immigration enforcement efforts by the Trump administration.

House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp.) introduced a resolution Thursday that would prohibit the House to vote on any budget bill for any municipality which “would subvert immigration enforcement in any way or that refuses to comply with federal immigration enforcement measures.”

Revenue sharing mandated by Michigan’s constitution would be exempt.

“What I wanted to do with this resolution is basically send a message to these townships, these counties, these cities that are having these conversations right now that if you become a sanctuary jurisdiction, there are going to be consequences,” Hall told reporters. “I want to send a clear message to you, if you’re going to be a sanctuary township, it’s gonna put your state funding at risk.”

Hall cited several examples of communities he says would not receive any directed funding if the rule were to be approved, which is expected as Republicans in the House hold a 58-52 majority following the November election. Democrats have control of the state Senate and often ally with Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who on Wednesday released her budget proposal for the next year, Fiscal Year 2026.

“Kalamazoo Township, which I represent one precinct of Kalamazoo Township, these guys came out about a week ago and said, ‘We want to become the first sanctuary township in Michigan, and they have this real wacky supervisor,” said Hall, referring to Kalamazoo Township Supervisor David Combs, who recently introduced an ordinance to prohibit township resources being used in any way for immigration enforcement purposes.

Hall also singled out the city of Grand Rapids and newly elected Mayor David LaGrand, a former Democratic House member.

“There’s a reason I left Grand Rapids, because they stopped focusing on what made them great and they started focusing on these social issues and things like this becoming a sanctuary city,” said Hall.

Last month, dozens of Grand Rapids residents spoke at a City Commission meeting with most urging officials to become a sanctuary city. While LaGrand said he agreed it was a moral issue they would speak out about, he didn’t want to give false hope.

“We don’t have an army. We don’t issue passports,” he told residents. “We’re a city.”

Regardless, Hall said any jurisdiction that did not specifically cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would be considered a sanctuary jurisdiction.

“It does not help enforce federal immigration law. It interferes in some way or it doesn’t cooperate with ICE. That is a sanctuary jurisdiction,” said Hall.

House Democrats were quick to condemn the resolution, calling it a “xenophobic” attempt to punish diverse communities.

“This proposed policy is irresponsible and reckless — it’s nothing more than yet another act of Republican chaos in their ongoing political theater,” said House Minority Leader Ranjeev Puri (D-Canton). “Speaker Hall might gain from stepping off the stage of his self-created reality TV show in order to take a practical look at the economic harm this kind of policy would inflict on Michigan’s families and communities.”

Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.