GOP Leaders MIA after Tragedy?

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With Donald Trump riding the immigration issue to the top of the Republican presidential polls, a number of senators are making a push to punish so-called “sanctuary cities.”

Sens. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., have introduced a bill to withhold Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice grants to state and local jurisdictions that restrict information sharing with the Department of Homeland Security.

“On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee — and the nation — heard testimony from grieving families who lost loved ones to criminal alien violence,” Sessions said Thursday in a statement. “Each and every one of these deaths, and thousands more like them, were completely preventable.”

“No parent should ever have to bury a child because we failed to keep violent criminals out of the country or failed to deport them once they were in the country,” said Sessions.

“No parent should ever have to bury a child because we failed to keep violent criminals out of the country or failed to deport them once they were in the country,” Sessions’ statement continued.

The bill also requires that state and local jurisdictions honor detention requests from the federal immigration authorities. The bill would also create a five-year mandatory minimum sentence in federal prison for illegal immigrants who have been previously deported who later try to re-enter illegally.

The bill comes on top of a proposal by Sens. David Vitter, R-La., and Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., to cut off federal funding to local law enforcement agencies that fail to cooperate with federal immigration authorities in deportation proceedings. Vitter, who has sponsored a version of the bill since 2009, said Thursday on “The Laura Ingraham Show” that he believes the politics have changed with the July 1 murder of San Francisco tourist Kate Steinle.

“Now, because of horrible incidents and tragedies like Katie Steinle’s murder, now there’s finally more attention to it,” said Vitter.

“Now, because of horrible incidents and tragedies like Katie Steinle’s murder, now there’s finally more attention to it,” said Vitter.

The senator said he ran into a roadblock trying to attach the measure to an education bill earlier this month but got a promise from the Senate GOP leadership to move forward in the Judiciary Committee.

“Leadership’s been completely quiet on it (previously), never putting it at the top of the Republican legislative agenda, never pushing hard on it,” he said.

Efforts by rank-and-file Republican lawmakers to target sanctuary cities have grown during the past month. Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-Kan., and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., have made similar proposals in recent weeks.

Vitter said his proposal simply would reiterate the law that currently exists.

“My bill is simple. It would enforce current federal law,” he said. “The problem is, there are no teeth in it. There are no consequences. … My bill would put teeth in it.”

Republicans should refocus their marketing on the issue: When illegal immigrants commit crimes, the most likely victims are Latinos and people living in low-income neighborhoods, Ingraham suggested.

The immigration issue, more than anything else, has propelled Trump to the front of the crowded Republican presidential field. Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol, who opposes Trump, told Ingraham on Thursday that the real estate mogul should not be dismissed.

“Pay attention to Trump,” he said. “Pay attention to what he’s saying.”

“He’s not hurting the Republican Party,” Kristol said. “He’s helping the Republican Party.”

Kristol also challenged conventional wisdom that Trump’s rhetoric is inflicting damage on the Republican brand. He pointed to a poll released earlier this week that shows a number of Republicans beating Democrat Hillary Clinton in swing states.

“He’s not hurting the Republican Party,” Kristol said. “He’s helping the Republican Party.”

Kristol also questioned the strategy of GOP presidential contender and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who recently called Trump a “cancer” on the Republican Party.

“Rick Perry’s comments on Trump are so overstated,” Kristol said. “Trump is not a cancer on conservatism.”

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