Despite support from the White House for the idea, Republican Rep. Dave Williams’ second attempt to put elected officials on the hook for creating sanctuary policies fell by the wayside Wednesday.

To no surprise, the Democratic-controlled House State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee dispatched Williams’ House Bill 1178 on a party-line 6-3 vote. The same committee killed Williams’ similar effort in 2017.

The 2018 bill would have asked voters to approve civil and criminal penalties for elected officials who set up sanctuary policies. Not only would cities and counties be held responsible for those policies under the bill, but so would school districts, special districts and even public colleges and universities.

That drew concern from the state teachers union, the Colorado Education Association, and testimony from teachers who said their students, whether undocumented or from undocumented families, live in daily fear of ICE raids or that their family members will be deported.

The bill would mandate that all of the jurisdictions covered under the bill provide written notice to employees that they must cooperate with federal immigration enforcement officers.

John Sampson, a former agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), testified that the bill is aimed at “criminal aliens” who have entered the country illegally and then committed criminal acts against U.S. citizens and other aliens.

“This is not an anti-immigration bill,” he insisted.

Denise Maes of American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said the bill is unconstitutional because it would require sheriffs to arrest undocumented immigrants on administrative waivers, which are not warrants and are not signed off by a judge. It would ask sheriffs to violate Colorado law, she said, which requires a warrant to mandate an arrest. She was one of several attorneys to testify that the measure would likely be a violation of the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, which bars unreasonable search and seizure.

“We simply disagree,” Williams told Colorado Politics about the Fourth Amendment issue. “There are legitimate differences on that issue.”

Williams didn’t mention his recent trip to the White House during the three-hour hearing. That trip, made last week, also included fellow Republican Reps. Tim Leonard of Evergreen, Steven Humphrey of Severance and Kevin Van Winkle of Highlands Ranch.

But he told Colorado Politics that the meeting, held with policy staff from the White House Domestic Policy Council, included discussion of his bill and how to crack down on sanctuary cities, as well as how federal policy could complement state laws.

During that meeting Williams said he asked that the Department of Justice offer legal assistance to El Paso County, where the sheriff is being sued by the ACLU for holding undocumented immigrants after they’ve been released by local authorities. He said the White House staff seemed interested in that request.

“If law enforcement and sheriffs can partner with ICE, the Department of Justice needs to provide legal assistance and defend them in court,” he said.