Senate rejects bill to discourage “sanctuary cities”

In a scheduled procedural vote, Senate Democrats blocked a Republican backed bill that would strip federal funding from cities that don’t cooperate with federal immigration requests will face punishment for such actions.

Democrats swiftly blocked a bid by Senate Republicans to toughen immigration laws on Tuesday that would have seen a significant crackdown on cities that decline to cooperate with federal immigration officials.

“I refuse to simply stand by and reward jurisdictions around the country with federal funding, with taxpayer funds, when they are in clear violation of the law and they are actively making our communities more risky, instead of safer”, Vitter said Monday in floor debate on the bill.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors sent a strong message Tuesday about the sanctuary city policies that came under attack after the July killing of Kathryn Steinle, allegedly by an immigrant with no legal standing: The existing policies are just fine. Congressional Republicans rallied around the case, passing a similar bill in the House of Representatives, while President Barack Obama vowed to veto such legislation. David Vitter (R-La.) from getting the 60 votes needed to move forward.

During Senate tesimony regarding S. 2146, the Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act sponsored by Louisiana Republican SenatorDavid Vitter, Cruz explained, “It makes no sense to continue sending federal money to local governments that intentionally make it more hard and costly for the federal government to do its job”. “Kate’s killer was released from custody and not turned over to be deported because of San Francisco’s sanctuary policy”.

“This vote represents a positive future for undocumented immigrants, non criminals”, said Jaime Martinez of the Cesar Chavez Legacy Foundation, who is pushing for the Sanctuary law. The Board stated that local law enforcement will not be required to notify federal authorities of the Immigration Customs and Enforcement know of the release of unauthorized immigrants. Lopez-Sanchez had neither, although he had a laundry list of drug violations and been deported to Mexico five times previously.

Supervisors said they wouldn’t let hateful commentary undermine a long-standing policy that improves public safety and embraces immigrants.

The legislation, authored by Sen.

Sanctuary cities are those that have opted not to detain immigrants arrested locally for federal immigration violations.

Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, speaking in San Francisco, a town infamous for its sanctuary city policies, said last month that sanctuary city rules are “not acceptable” and “counterproductive”.

The bill has divided Congress along partisan lines and gained national attention in the wake of GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump’s harsh words on immigration and the shooting death of a California woman over the summer by an undocumented immigrant. The victim’s family has called for a repeal to laws that decouple local police from immigration law enforcement, arguing that increase cooperation could have prevented Steinle’s death.