--- title: HB 470. Crimes and offenses; prohibit activities related to immigration enforcement in certain locations collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb470 cite_as: HB 470, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb470 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb470.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb470/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70382 date: 2025-02-20 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb469.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb471.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 129 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb470.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 470 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-02-18 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - Bryce Berry - Gabriel Sanchez - Ruwa Romman - Samuel Park - Park Cannon - Mary Ann Santos text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB470/2025 upstream_id: 1974401 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - immigration enforcement - law enforcement policy - schools - hospitals - places of worship --- # HB 470. Crimes and offenses; prohibit activities related to immigration enforcement in certain locations ## Text House Bill 470 By: Representatives Berry of the 56th, Sanchez of the 42nd, Romman of the 97th, Park of the 107th, Cannon of the 58th, and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Article 5 of Chapter 11 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to offenses involving illegal aliens, so as to prohibit activities related to immigration enforcement in certain locations; to provide for such prohibition to apply to federal, state, and local government employees; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. Article 5 of Chapter 11 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to offenses involving illegal aliens, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows: "16-11-204. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no federal, state, or local government employee, including law enforcement officers, shall conduct immigration enforcement activities or take actions with the intent to assist in immigration enforcement on or in any school grounds, college campuses, public places of worship, or hospitals." SECTION 2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia House bill would bar federal, state, and local government employees, including police, from conducting immigration enforcement activities at schools, colleges, houses of worship, and hospitals. ### Plain-language summary Georgia law currently does not set aside specific places as off-limits for immigration enforcement. This bill would change that by adding a new section to Georgia's criminal code dealing with offenses involving immigration status. The bill states that no employee of the federal, state, or local government, including law enforcement officers, may conduct immigration enforcement activities or act with intent to assist such enforcement at school grounds, college campuses, public places of worship, or hospitals. The prohibition applies regardless of any other law that might otherwise allow such activity ('notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary'). The bill does not specify penalties for violating the new rule, and it repeals any conflicting laws. It does not include a separate effective date section beyond standard enactment. ### What it does - Adds a new Code section (O.C.G.A. ยง 16-11-204) prohibiting government employees from conducting immigration enforcement at certain locations. - Applies the prohibition to federal, state, and local government employees, explicitly including law enforcement officers. - Bans not just direct enforcement but also actions taken with intent to assist immigration enforcement at the covered locations. - Names four protected location types: school grounds, college campuses, public places of worship, and hospitals. - Overrides any other conflicting law by stating the rule applies 'notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary.' - Repeals any existing laws that conflict with this new restriction. ### Who it affects Federal immigration officers, state and local police, schools and colleges, houses of worship, and hospitals in Georgia are directly affected, since the bill restricts what government employees may do on their grounds. Immigrant communities who use these spaces would also be affected. ### Why it matters If enacted, immigration agents and other government employees could not carry out enforcement actions at schools, colleges, churches, or hospitals in Georgia, potentially changing how and where such enforcement happens and affecting access to these institutions for immigrant families. ### Key provisions - Section 1 adds new Code section 16-11-204 to Article 5 of Chapter 11 of Title 16, which covers offenses involving illegal aliens. - The new section bars immigration enforcement activities or actions intended to assist such enforcement by federal, state, or local government employees, including law enforcement. - The restriction applies specifically to school grounds, college campuses, public places of worship, and hospitals. - The provision is written to override conflicting law ('notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary'). - Section 2 repeals all laws and parts of laws in conflict with the Act. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-02-18) - Last action: House Second Readers (2025-02-20) - Sponsors: Bryce Berry, Gabriel Sanchez, Ruwa Romman, Samuel Park, Park Cannon, Mary Ann Santos - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70382 > The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb470.md?full=1