Republicans Push For Business Sanction On ‘Sanctuary Cities’

By Benjamin J. Hulac
Washington Correspondent For the NJ Spotlight News

WASHINGTON — The Newark field office of the Small Business Administration, a federal agency that administers loans, disaster relief, federal contracting and entrepreneurship programs, could close under legislation moving through Congress.

Legislation (H.R. 2931) that cleared the House requires the SBA to remove its offices from “sanctuary cities” — places that generally limit their cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, in particular the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, though there is no formal definition.

“It’s cruel,” Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-10th), who represents Newark, said in an interview. “It’s trying to target Democratic states and cities.”

The House voted, 211-199, in June to pass the bill, now in the Senate. Democrats almost entirely voted against the bill, while Republicans, including all New Jersey Republicans, Reps. Jeff Van Drew, Chris Smith and Tom Kean Jr., voted for it.

Reps. Donald Norcross (D-1st), Josh Gottheimer (D-5th) and Mikie Sherrill (D-11th) did not vote, while the rest of the New Jersey congressional delegation voted against the bill. At that point, Norcross was recovering from sepsis while Gottheimer and Sherrill were running for the Democratic nomination for governor, a race Sherrill won.

Who decides?
The bill allows SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler, a former Republican senator from Georgia, to determine what makes a location a sanctuary city. It would also codify into law Trump administration policy to remove SBA offices from six cities — Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, New York City and Seattle — where municipal leaders have worked to rebuff federal deportation efforts.

There is one SBA district office in New Jersey, a location in Newark, which covers all of the state’s 21 counties.

Since January, the Trump administration has moved to close regional offices across the U.S. government including the Social Security Administration, the Head Start program and the Department of Health and Human Services.

The closures would save money, administration officials have said.

In March, the SBA said the six agency offices would be “moved to less costly, more accessible locations that better serve the small business community and comply with federal immigration law.”

Moving, not closing
Texas Republican Rep. Roger Williams, chairman of the House Small Business Committee, which oversees the SBA, said agency offices would not be closed but rather moved elsewhere within the same state.

“This bill simply relocates these offices,” Williams said during floor debate. “As I said before, lending and counseling services for small businesses will still be provided to constituents.”

There is one SBA district office in New Jersey, a location in Newark, which covers all of the state’s 21 counties.

Before passage, Democrats said if the administration shuts down SBA offices in large cities, the public will simply go to the closest office that still exists.

“If the New York office were to close, the effects would spill over into my own community. The SBA office in Newark services over 800,000 small businesses in New Jersey alone,” McIver said on the House floor. “Newark’s office would be overwhelmed if the New York City office closes.”

A low-profile federal agency, the SBA took on an outsize profile during the COVID-19 pandemic when Congress created a national loan program, the Paycheck Protection Program, to help keep small businesses open with low-interest and forgivable loans.

Overall, the agency managed about $950 billion in pandemic-relief programs.

New Jersey senators Cory Booker and Andy Kim, Democrats, voted against Loeffler’s confirmation.