Florida House passes bill banning sanctuary cities

The Florida House passed a high-profile Republican bill Wednesday requiring local law enforcement agencies to cooperate with federal immigration authorities and banning so-called "sanctuary city" policies that shield immigrants who are arrested.

After hours of debate over two days, the GOP-led House voted 69-47 largely along party lines for the measure, sending it over to the Senate where a similar bill is pending. Republicans have a narrow majority in the Florida state Senate.

Florida doesn't currently have any formal "sanctuary cities" like those in other states. The bill sponsored by GOP Rep. Cord Byrd of Jacksonville Beach would ban those policies and require local authorities to honor detainer requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that can lead to a person's deportation.

Byrd and other Republicans cast it as a law-and-order measure that is aimed at generating respect for U.S. immigration laws.

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