U.S. House Passes Bill to Punish “Sanctuary Cities”

The 32-year-old was murdered earlier this month, allegedly by an illegal immigrant who re-entered the country multiple times.

“There are criminals motivated by malice and a conscious disregard for the lives of others, and there are cities more interested in providing a sanctuary for those criminals than they are in providing a sanctuary for their law-abiding citizens”, Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said. This was especially heinous because it was preventable.

Joanne Lin, legislative counsel for the ACLU, said the bill was a knee-jerk reaction and has not been given time for scrutiny by the House Judiciary Committee or the public. The man who allegedly shot her, Juan Francisco Lopez Sanchez, has several felony convictions and had been deported five times before the shooting. He told lawmakers that “hopefully some good will come from Kate’s death”, if laws could be changed to keep criminal immigrants off the street. Steinle hopes to lend his daughter’s name to the passage of some form of legislation. We feel if Kate’s law saves one daughter, one son, a mother, a father, Kate’s death won’t be in vain. She noted that the agency is working with local authorities on bettering the communication about and apprehending of inmates and on finding solutions tailored to the needs of specific locations.

“The U.S. has suffered a self-inflicted wound in the murder of our daughter by the hand of a person that should have never been on the streets of this country”, Steinle added.

Democrats, who have called for a review of immigration law enforcement, say the Republican bill is too restrictive and would undermine the relationship between law enforcement and immigrant communities. “Grant immediately offered up the cigarettes to the man who shot him in the face killing him”, said Michael Ronnebeck.

Durden said she was pleased to be able to provide the Steinle family and others with emotional support. That’s what we are all working toward.

House Republicans approved legislation Thursday cracking down on “sanctuary cities” that shield residents from federal immigration authorities. A similar proposal has been advanced in the Senate, but it’s unclear how far it will go.

Now Congress is acting to balance the injustice, not just with the Kate’s Law hearings in the Senate to end the revolving door of deportation that Sanchez benefited from, but also in the House, where hearings are to be held Thursday on defunding sanctuary cities that thumb their nose at federal law.

San Antonio is not officially a Sanctuary City but police will not ask individuals about their immigration status. He was sent to San Francisco on an outstanding drug charge, but the city district attorney’s office declined to prosecute the case. Since 1989, a San Francisco city-county ordinance has barred employees from helping federal officials with immigration investigations or arrests unless required by federal or state law or a warrant. Follow Chris Nguyen on Twitter and watch his live reports from Washington on ABC7 News.