U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander Wednesday voted to begin debate on legislation that would have reduced or eliminated certain federal grants to so-called sanctuary cities – states, cities, counties or towns that violate federal immigration law. He also voted to begin debate on Kate’s Law, which would increase criminal penalties for illegal immigrants with criminal records who re-enter the country illegally after being deported. Senate Democrats blocked both bills from moving forward.
"The Constitution gives the federal government— not mayors or governors—the responsibility of establishing our nation’s immigration laws," said Senator Alexander. "Washington needs to fix our broken immigration system, but until then, cities must follow federal law as it is written, not as they wish it had been written. I supported Kate’s Law because if the federal government won’t enforce the border the way it should be enforced, then we should lock up illegal immigrants with criminal records who have been deported and return illegally.”
The Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act would have:
Protected local law enforcement officers who act in accordance with federal immigration laws.
Limited Community Development Block Grants and certain Economic Development Administration Grants for states, cities, counties or towns that fail to comply with federal immigration information sharing requirements.
Required the funds withheld from so-called sanctuary cities to be sent to states, cities, counties or towns who follow federal immigration laws.
Kate’s Law would have:
Imposed a five-year mandatory minimum sentence on any immigrant who re-enters the country illegally after being deported if they were previously convicted of an aggravated felony, or were convicted two previous times for illegally entering the country.
Increased maximum sentences to five years for any immigrant who illegally re-enters the country after being deported or denied entry.
Increased maximum sentences to 10 years for any immigrant who illegally re-enters the U.S. after having been deported, previously convicted of three or more misdemeanors or one felony, or denied entry for any reason regarding terrorism. The 10-year maximum would also apply to those illegally re-entering who had not completed a previous prison sentence or had previously been denied entry or deported three or more times.
In October 2015 Senator Alexander supported legislation that included similar sanctuary cities and Kate’s Law provisions. And in June 2013, Senator Alexander voted for legislation that would have fixed our broken immigration system by adding 20,000 border patrol agents, constructed 700 miles of new or upgraded fencing, and provided $3.2 billion for new security technology.
U.S. Senator David Perdue, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Wednesday issued the following statement after he voted to defund sanctuary cities that refuse to enforce immigration laws and to establish mandatory minimums for illegal reentry offenses:
“Our country prides itself on being a nation of laws and these laws must be enforced uniformly across the country. Unfortunately, this is not happening. Today, more than 300 cities are needlessly endangering the lives of their law-abiding residents by refusing to enforce our current immigration laws and carry out deportations issued by the federal government. This is not just childish political posturing, it is an abhorrent disregard for the law and has led to the death of innocent Americans.
“One year ago, a young woman named Kate Steinle was killed by an illegal alien felon San Francisco refused to detain. Federal law enforcement officials had issued a detainer for this individual, a convicted felon who had been deported five times. Citing its sanctuary city policy, San Francisco ignored the detainer. Who in good conscience can argue that this lawlessness should continue? It is a very sad day when Congress cannot come together to stop rogue cities from breaking our nation’s laws, protect the livelihood of all American citizens, and support our law enforcement officials.”
In addition Kate’s Law, Senator Perdue has cosponsored the following bills to stop sanctuary jurisdictions:
S. 291, the Keep Our Communities Safe Act to strengthen the requirements for the detention and removal of illegal aliens.
S. 2146, the Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act to withhold federal grants from cities refusing to enforce immigration laws.
S. 1762, the Establishing Mandatory Minimums for Illegal Reentry Act of 2015 to increase penalties applicable to aliens who unlawfully reenter the United States after being removed.
S. 1640, the Michael Davis, Jr. and Danny Oliver in Honor of State and Local Law Enforcement Act to withhold federal funding for any jurisdictions that refuse to comply with federal law.