U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Steve Daines today blasted Senate Democrats who blocked consideration of several pieces of commonsense legislation that would protect families from the dangers posted by sanctuary cities, which harbor criminals who are in this country illegally.
“It’s outrageous that Senate Democrats blocked commonsense legislation that would help protect the safety and security of innocent Americans from criminals who violate our nation’s laws,” Daines stated. “Our cities need to uphold the rule of law and go after criminals who are not only the United States illegally, but violate the laws of our nation or repeatedly reenter the country after being deported.”
A sanctuary jurisdiction is a state or locality that forbids its local law enforcement from:
- Sharing information with federal immigration officials,
- Complying with an immigration detainer.
S.3100, the Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act would withhold certain federal funds from cities with sanctuary policies in an effort to convince these cities to allow their law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration officials.
S.2193, Kate’s Law provides a five year mandatory minimum sentence for any illegal immigrant who re-enters the U.S after having been convicted of an aggravated felony or after having been twice convicted of illegally re-entering the U.S.
Kate’s Law is named after Kate Steinle, who was killed last summer on a San Francisco pier as she was walking with her father. The shooter was an illegal immigrant who had previously been convicted of seven felonies and deported five times. Just three months earlier, the Department of Homeland Security had asked San Francisco police to hold this man until they could pick him up, but the city refused to cooperate and instead released the shooter, in line with its sanctuary policy.
Senate Democrats blocked similar legislation from advancing on October 20, 2015.
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