Father of Kate Steinle testifies at U.S. Senate hearing on immigration

Posted: 07/21/2015 08:48:42 AM PDT
20 Comments
| Updated: about 3 hours ago
Mark Gomez

WASHINGTON D.C. -- The debate over immigration reform took center stage in Washington D.C. on Tuesday as the father of Kate Steinle called on federal and local lawmakers to stop releasing illegal immigrants with criminal records.

Steinle was at his daughter's side July 1 when she was gunned down while walking along Pier 14 in San Francisco, allegedly by a habitual felon who was in the United States illegally. Tuesday, Steinle spoke in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee at a hearing to examine this country's immigration policies, including the sanctuary city practice of releasing illegal immigrants with criminal records from jail without alerting federal authorities who could deport them.

"Our family realized the complexity of immigration laws; however we feel strongly that legislation should be discussed, enacted or changed to take these undocumented immigrant felons off our streets for good," Steinle said at the hearing. "We'd be proud to see Kate's name associated with some of this new legislation. We feel if Kate's Law saves one daughter, one son, a mother, a father, Kate's death won't be in vain."

The man accused of killing Steinle, Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, had been deported from the United States five times back to his native Mexico, had seven felony convictions and a long rap sheet at the time of his arrest. He has pleaded not guilty to murder but admitted in a television interview that he fired the shots.

In an opening statement, Sen. Dianne Feinstein called for improved cooperation between local, state and federal law enforcement and that those agencies should notify immigration authorities before releasing an illegal immigrant with a serious felony record.

"I strongly believe that local law enforcement should have notified the immigration authorities in the case of the accused murdered of Kate Steinle," Feinstein said. "The man who killed Kate is the classic case of multiple felonies and prior deportations and a simple phone call would have been enough.

"But that did not happen."

Currently, Santa Clara County doesn't inform federal immigration officials about an inmate's pending release unless he is the subject of a criminal warrant, similar to the "sanctuary city" provisions in San Francisco.

Earlier this month, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen, Sheriff Laurie Smith and U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren renewed their calls for the Board of Supervisors to reconsider its practice of releasing illegal immigrants with criminal records from jail without alerting federal immigration authorities.

At the hearing, Sen. Chuck Grassley also mentioned the case of Edgar Covarrubias Padilla, who worked at the popular Walden West Science Camp in Saratoga and is accused of molesting a fifth-grader and possessing and manufacturing child pornography. Covarrubias Padilla, a camp manager, was granted a work permit under a federal program for immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children. These cases, where so-called Dreamers are accused of committing crimes, were also discussed Tuesday.

Laura Wilkerson, whose son Josh Wilkerson was 18 when he was beaten, tortured and burned to death in November, also testified. Her son's former classmate Hermilo Moralez, an illegal immigrant from Belize who was 19 at the time of the crime, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-cou...-at-u-s-senate

As I trust any and all in Congress to always look for and take the low road, they have had so many hearings on borders and aliens they are looking for the easier softer way to make a great story but not disturb the aliens much. America elects that kind, remember the great things expected of the 2014 republican landslide. Until we see that the political parties as they are organized are not American parties, but corporatism parties, well, If nothing changes, nothing changes. America has accepted what is happening since 1986, telling me since 1990 that all the crime was worth it in money saved. How much of the money saved did the average American get? I do not remember getting mine.

Stop the carnage by aliens now!!

Is that too much to expect from a nation that did spend a trillion dollars to destroy weapons of mass destruction that did not exist?