Unfortunately Senator Toomey’s sanctuary city bill (S.3100) failed to receive the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture and move forward with debate. From 2015:
The Stop Sanctuary Policies Act, a Republican-backed bill that would withhold some federal funding from so-called “sanctuary cities,” failed to reach the 60 votes necessary to advance beyond a test vote.
“Sanctuary cities,” like Philadelphia, ignore “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) requests to detain any undocumented immigrant arrested by local law enforcement, claiming the aggressive use of detainers prevents immigrants from reporting crimes to police.
Such policies came under scrutiny in July, when an undocumented immigrant and convicted felon allegedly murdered a woman in San Francisco. Congressional Republicans rallied around the case, passing a similar bill in the House of Representatives, while President Barack Obama vowed to veto such legislation. More here.
Senate Dems block sanctuary city, ‘Kate’s Law’ bills
WashingtonExaminer: Senate lawmakers on Wednesday blocked legislation aimed at stopping violent crimes committed by illegal immigrants.
The “Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act” would revoke federal grants provided to so-called sanctuary cities that refuse to comply with Homeland Security requests to detain illegal immigrants. The bill is meant to put pressure on those cities to cooperate with the federal government on these issues.
The bill is one of the legislative reactions to the death of Kate Steinle, who was killed on a San Francisco pier by an illegal immigrant. After her death, city officials defended their decision not to cooperate with federal authorities on deporting illegal immigrants.
While Republicans say those sorts of incidents show the government needs to put more pressure on sanctuary cities to follow federal guidance, Democrats disagree, and they helped scuttle the bill in the Senate. Republicans needed 60 votes to let the bill advance in a 53-44 vote.
Democrats have said the bill is anti-immigrant and would hurt local communities. Civil rights groups have lobbied Democrats to oppose the bills, arguing they would damage the ability of police to build trust with immigrant communities.
Democrats also blocked a second related bill, the “Stop Illegal Reentry Act,” which would require mandatory minimum sentences standards for those who have been deported and then come back into the United States illegally and are convicted of an aggravated felony.
The bill is named after Steinle, and was introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
“Congress must prevent cities from harboring illegal aliens, and it must hold this administration accountable for its failure, if not its outright refusal, to enforce federal immigration laws and ensure the safety and security of the American people,” Cruz said.
But Democrats disagreed, and again shut down the bill in a procedural vote that failed to get 60 votes, 55-42.
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In part from USAToday: Republicans said they were trying to save lives, invoking the one-year anniversary of the shooting of 32-year-old Kate Steinle, who was killed as she walked along a San Francisco pier with her father in July 2015. Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, has been charged with Steinle’s murder.
The case sparked national outrage when it was revealed that Sanchez had been deported five times for multiple felonies and was released from a San Francisco County Jail without being turned over to federal immigration authorities.
“The shooter should never have been on the pier that day,” Toomey said.
San Francisco and more than 300 other cities, counties and states have policies against keeping undocumented immigrants in custody for federal agents unless agents have a court order or warrant. Police in cities with large immigrant populations say they cannot convince residents to trust them if police are viewed as immigration agents who will help deport them if they come forward to report crimes.
Toomey’s bill would have barred local governments with sanctuary policies from receiving community development block grants, which are used to create jobs, provide housing to low-income and moderate-income families, and help communities recover from natural disasters.
“Senator Toomey’s bill…aims to prevent more families from experiencing the heartache that Kate Steinle’s family has been forced to endure,” said Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Republicans have been candid about the need for Toomey to have a vote on his “message amendment” to help his re-election campaign.
“So this is a political tactic,” Durbin said. “Senator Toomey’s bill will not pass, but it gives him something to talk about when he goes home and something perhaps to give a speech about at the Republican (National) Convention.” More from USAToday
