House to take up bill blocking money for 'sanctuary cities'
Jul 20, 8:58 PM (ET)
By ERICA WERNER
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House will take up a bill this week blocking funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" that resist turning over immigrants to federal authorities.
The move follows the shooting death of a woman in San Francisco this month, allegedly by an immigrant with a criminal record and without legal status.
San Francisco authorities had released the man despite a request from federal officials to keep him in custody.
That was in line with a practice by San Francisco and other jurisdictions that have begun refusing to cooperate with federal immigration orders amid concerns over their legality and their impact on immigrant communities.
The bill by Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter of California would block certain federal grants to cities that don't honor federal immigration requests.
A similar proposal has been advanced in the Senate, but it's unclear how far it will go.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National League of Cities on Monday sent a letter to lawmakers protesting any such legislation. "We believe that decisions related to how law enforcement agencies prioritize their resources, direct their workforce and define the duties of their employees must reside with local government leadership," the letter reads. "This includes defining the role of local police officers in the context of enforcing federal immigration laws."
Meanwhile, the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday will hear from Jim Steinle, father of Kathryn Steinle, the 32-year-old woman who was shot in San Francisco. Steinle was walking with his daughter along a popular pier in daylight when the shooting happened.
The Archbishop of San Francisco sent a letter Monday urging the committee to "avoid the implementation of policies that punish all immigrants for the transgressions of a small minority."
"I applaud the commitment to public safety of the City of San Francisco and other local jurisdictions and support their right to exercise reasonable and appropriate discretion in the handling of immigrant detainees," Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone wrote. "A just and humanitarian policy should not be abandoned because of flaws in the system."
http://apnews.myway.com/article/2015...fa474a2f6.html
House to Vote on Sanctuary City Bill
by Caroline May
21 Jul 2015
The House is slated to consider legislation targeting sanctuary cities.
House leaders have scheduled a vote on the “Enforce the Law for Sanctuary Cities Act” this week, according to reports.
The bill, offered by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), would block federal law enforcement grants for jurisdictions that do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
“States and cities that refuse to enforce federal immigration laws directly undermine enforcement efforts and — as recent events have shown — present a real danger to citizens,” Hunter said in a statement to Breitbart News shortly before he introduced the bill. “If a state or one of its cities wants to call itself a sanctuary and deliberately ignore the law, then Congress shouldn’t hesitate to withhold federal funding until there’s compliance.”
The Obama administration has pushed back against attempts to force cities to comply with immigration law.
The bill comes in the wake of the murder of Kathryn Steinle, allegedly by a five-time deportee, multiple-felon, illegal immigrant after he was released due to San Francisco’s sanctuary city policies. Steinle was shot at a San Francisco pier this month.
Steinle’s father, Jim Steinle, testified Tuesday before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday.
http://www.breitbart.com/big-governm...ary-city-bill/
