Shelby, Sessions push to defund sanctuary cities

Senators Richard Shelby (left) and Jeff Sessions (right)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — One year ago last Friday, American citizen Kathryn Steinle was killed in San Francisco by an illegal alien and Alabama’s Senators are demanding action be taken to ensure her death was not in vain.

“Today’s anniversary of the tragic death of Kathryn Steinle serves as a reminder that we must take action against sanctuary cities that blatantly ignore federal immigration removal policies,” Shelby said in a statement on July 1. “Since last July, I have pressed Attorney General Lynch to put an end to funding for municipalities that deliberately obstruct policies to remove illegal immigrants who have committed crimes.”

Steinle was murdered on July 1, 2015 by an illegal immigrant who had already been deported. Her killing sparked national outrage and a movement pushing for greater immigration restrictions.

The Senate will soon take a vote on “Kate’s Law” which would guarantee a five-year prison sentence for illegal immigrants who cross back into the U.S. after being deported. If passed, the law would crack down on so-called Sanctuary Cities like San Francisco that harbor such individuals.

“I am pleased that the Senate will take a vote on a common-sense measure next week to address the inexcusable actions of sanctuary cities,” Shelby said. “The American people deserve better than for the federal government to sit back and allow dangerous illegal immigrants to be put back on the streets by cities who refuse to follow the law.”

Shelby’s colleague, Senator Jeff Sessions, has been one of the leading voices in the Senate fighting for major immigration reform. Last year, he introduced a bill seeking to close loopholes in the federal government’s enforcement of immigration law. In other contexts, Sessions has gone as far as to say officials from sanctuary cities should be prosecuted.

“There is never a reason to allow a dangerous criminal alien to enter, live, or remain in the United States,” Sen. Sessions said last summer. “No parent should ever have to bury a child because we failed to keep violent criminals out of the country or failed to deport them once they were in the country. Protecting the lives of innocent Americans is one of the most basic duties of the federal government. Our goal should be to keep 100% of dangerous aliens out of the United States.”

According to the Center for Immigration Studies, 200 municipalities nationwide could be classified as sanctuary cities. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) estimates that from January 1 to August 31 of 2014, more than 8,100 deportable aliens were released after being arrested by sanctuary jurisdictions. Of the 8,100 aliens released by sanctuary jurisdictions, approximately 1,900 were later arrested yet again. In many instances, these illegal immigrants were subsequently arrested more than once.