The Voice of the Community Since 1909, Serving Moorcroft and Pine Haven, Wyoming
The Voice of the Community Since 1909, Serving Moorcroft and Pine Haven, Wyoming
CASPER — A new legislator is set to bring a bill banning sanctuary cities and counties in Wyoming to the 2025 General Session in January. The freshman representative, Joel Guggenmos, R-Riverton, confirmed to the Star-Tribune that he would be the primary sponsor of the bill.
Bills banning sanctuary cities have popped up most years in the legislature, but immigration advocates are worried that these types of bills have a real chance of becoming law next year as the hardline Freedom Caucus now makes up a majority in the House of Representatives. President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to execute mass deportations of immigrants once he takes office in January.
Previous iterations
Rep. Daniel Singh, R-Cheyenne, proposed similar legislation in 2024 and Secretary of State Chuck Gray proposed legislation each year from 2018 to 2021 during his time as a Casper representative in the House.
Guggenmos said that the bill being brought forward in 2025 is similar to Gray’s bills, but he “made some additions to the bill to try and cover certain possibilities that could cause issues.”
Guggenmos also said that this bill would still be useful even if Trump carries out mass deportations.
“This bill will help President Trump in his very important efforts to stop illegal immigration. It is pivotal that our state is clear that no state funding will be provided to any sanctuary city or county. This bill will help President Trump with his second term goals,” he said.
“Wyoming needs to enact President Trump’s policies. We must stop illegal immigration and banning sanctuary cities and counties is a pivotal step our state should take,” Gray said in an email.
Wyoming American Civil Liberties Union Advocacy Director Antonio Serrano said sanctuary city and county bans are unnecessary in Wyoming.
“It’s ridiculous because there [are] no sanctuary cities, there [are] no sanctuary counties. There is no one talking about becoming a sanctuary city in Wyoming,” Serrano said. “This is just a signal from [the] Freedom Caucus, from extreme politicians that are just saying ‘we don’t want immigrants in our state,’ and that’s what bills like that say. They’re anti-immigrant.”
Jackson issues
Guggenmos points to Teton County when explaining the reasoning for new legislation.
“The actions of some officials in Teton County in not cooperating with ICE to deport illegals in the area spurred me to do this. Also having reports that Venezuelan gang members are already in our jail system, tells me this is a big problem for Wyoming as well,” he said.
Republican Rep. Harriet Hageman said in a November newsletter that the Teton County Sheriff’s office was “foiling” the efforts of Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Teton County.
The newsletter said that scores of individuals being held in the county jail for committing serious crimes that meet the threshold for deportation were released — despite a request from ICE to hold and transfer the individuals.
Teton County Sheriff Matt Carr told media outlets that his office was not aware of any ICE operations in Teton County and said his office cooperates with the federal agency.
