Sanctuary City Crackdown

The House of Representatives voted Thursday to crack down on state and local jurisdictions that undermine federal immigration authorities.

The 241-179 vote was largely along party lines.

“Laws are put in place to keep our families safe, and all Americans should be able to trust local governments to uphold the rule of law,” House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions, R-Texas, said in a statement. “Republicans today passed an important piece of legislation that will cut off certain federal grants to sanctuary cities that encourage illegal immigrants to seek refuge in their communities.”

“It is unacceptable that an estimated 350 cities across our nation are unfairly allowing illegal aliens to stay in our country,” Sessions continued.

“It is unacceptable that an estimated 350 cities across our nation are unfairly allowing illegal aliens to stay in our country,” Sessions continued, “thereby completely disregarding federal immigration law, which has been weak under President (Barack) Obama to begin with.”

The bill, the Enforce the Law for Sanctuary Cities Act, would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to make a state or local jurisdiction ineligible for criminal alien assistance program funding if it has any policy restricting communication with the Immigration and Naturalization Service or other government agency about a person’s immigration status. It also would cut off funds if a jurisdiction prohibits its law enforcement officers from gathering information about immigration status.

The bill would also cut off funds if a jurisdiction prohibits its law enforcement officers from gathering information about immigration status.

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., introduced the bill with 44 co-sponsors.

Pressure now shifts to Senate Republicans, where some suggest the party’s leadership has not been forceful enough in pushing the issue. Earlier Thursday, Sens. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., introduced legislation to crack down on sanctuary cities.

The White House on Thursday issued a veto threat.

“This bill fails to offer comprehensive reforms needed to fix the nation’s broken immigration laws, undermines current Administration efforts to remove the most dangerous convicted criminals and to work collaboratively with State and local law enforcement agencies, and threatens the civil rights of all Americans by authorizing State and local officials to collect information regarding any private citizen’s immigration status, at any time, for any reason, and without justification,” the administration said in a statement.

Some immigration hardliners also opposed the bill, arguing it does not go far enough. NumbersUSA, which seeks to roll back immigration to pre-1965 levels, said in a statement that “the Hunter bill does not in any way address the largest sanctuary jurisdiction of all — the federal government.”

The organization argued the bill actually is weaker than an amendment to the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Act that the House already has adopted. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, made that proposal.

“It is unconscionable that the House would respond to the tragic murder of Kate Steinle by moving legislation that is weaker than the language it adopted less than two months ago to defund sanctuary jurisdictions,” NumbersUSA stated.

King, however, voted with the majority to approve Thursday’s bill. Other rank-and-file Republicans indicated the proposal is the best approach to the sanctuary city issue. Some referenced the murder Steinle — allegedly at the hands of a man who had been deported five times and had a criminal record — and expressed their views in highly personal terms.

“I am the father of two grown women, but I never quit being their daddy,” Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Ala., said Wednesday during debate as the Rules Committee took up the issue. “And I cannot imagine what Mr. Steinle went through that day when he was with his daughter, and she was shot and died in his arms.”

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