“It is beyond my comprehension why federal, state, and local officials would actively discourage or outright prevent law enforcement agencies from upholding the laws of the United States”
Two bills were passed by the House on Thursday that will help make the country safer for US citizens.
One of these bills, that was long overdue, was the passing of Kate’s Law. Last year public outcry, as well as pressure from Fox News’ Bill O’Rielly, pushed for the passage of Kate’s law, but a previous version of the law was blocked by Senate Democrats.
Kate’s Law will increase penalties for deported aliens who try to return to the United States after being previously deported. The bill passed by a vote of 257 to 157, with one Republican voting no and 24 Democrats voting yes.
Kate’s Law is named for Kate Steinle, a young San Francisco woman killed by an illegal immigrant who was in the U.S. despite repeated deportations. It fits that this bill passed just days before the two-year anniversary of her death.
Speaking of the shooter that took Kate Steinle’s life, Paul Ryan said, “he should not have been here, and she should not have died. Our job here is to make sure that those professionals have the tools that they need and the resources that they need to carry out their work and to protect our communities. That is what these measures are all about.”
The senseless murder of Kate Steinle put the issue of previously deported illegal aliens who repeatedly commit crimes into the national spotlight. Alleged shooter Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez had been deported five times and had seven felony convictions. The story of Kate’s shooting and that of her murderer can be found in an article previously published by OpsLens.
The House also passed a bill to pull federal funding for certain programs away from “Sanctuary Cities.” Named as the “No Sanctuary for Criminals Act,” the bill would cut federal grants to states and “Sanctuary Cities” that refuse to cooperate with law enforcement carrying out immigration enforcement activities.
“The word ‘sanctuary’ calls to mind someplace safe, but too often for families and victims affected by illegal immigrant crime, sanctuary cities are anything but safe,” Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly asserted in the pre-vote press conference.
“It is beyond my comprehension why federal, state, and local officials would actively discourage or outright prevent law enforcement agencies from upholding the laws of the United States,” he added.
Many immigration rights groups have characterized efforts to crack down on sanctuary cities as “anti-immigrant,” but Attorney General Jeff Sessions says it is not sound policy to allow sanctuary cities to flout federal immigration laws.
ICE has arrested nearly 66,000 individuals this year that was either known or suspected to be in the country illegally. Of those arrested, 48,000 were convicted criminal aliens.
Just this year the Texas legislature passed an anti-sanctuary city bill which Governor Abbott signed making it a crime for law enforcement and elected officials to not cooperate with the federal immigration enforcement actions. The Texas bill, SB4, outlawed sanctuary cities in Texas.
This win is only half the battle. Both bills will face substantial opposition in the Senate from the Democrat side of the aisle who successfully blocked Kate’s law last year. The Senate Republicans will need all their members and at least five Democrats to vote with them to assure Kate’s Law as well as the No Sanctuary Law will pass. It will be a steep hill to climb.
