States passing laws against ‘sanctuary cities’.
Communities resist federal program that led to more deportations
States around the country are on the verge of passing laws to crack down on “sanctuary cities” that protect undocumented immigrants from being deported.
The efforts are a broad response to the death in July of Kathryn Steinle of San Francisco. An undocumented immigrant who had been released from jail instead of handed over to federal immigration officials is accused of shooting Steinle. Her death, publicized by Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump and others, brought sanctuary cities into the national spotlight, prompting politicians in Congress, state legislatures and local governments to call for sweeping changes.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill in July that would crack down on those cities, and the Senate is scheduled to take up the bill this week.
After three months of hearings and intense debate, the first state law targeting sanctuary cities is about to be signed in North Carolina. State Rep. George Cleveland, R-Jacksonville, said it took Steinle’s death to get enough legislators on board to pass his bill, which Republican Gov. Pat McCrory is likely to sign into law this month.
“Everyone says, ‘It’s a federal government problem.’ No, it isn’t. The federal government is not doing its job, so it’s
our problem,” Cleveland said. “We’ve become so multiculturalist that we don’t have the common sense to see that we’re ruining our country. Instead, we let cities pat (undocumented immigrants) on the back, and here we are.”
Defenders of sanctuary cities worry about a national overreaction to the shooting in San Francisco.
Sam Liccardo, Democratic mayor of nearby San Jose, said communities should use the shooting as an opportunity to review their sanctuary policies. He worries that cities could pass extreme laws that hurt all immigrants.
“Innovative regions of the world depend on ambitious, creative people who come from other parts of the world to contribute to our economy,” said Liccardo, a former prosecutor whose city is in the heart of Silicon Valley.
“I think cities that become viewed as hostile toward immigrants will ultimately be forced to rethink their approach.”
Sanctuary cities started popping up in response to a federal program that uses local law enforcement to help identify undocumented immigrants.
People arrested on local charges and booked into jails have their fingerprints sent to the Department of Homeland Security to check for immigration violations. If one pops up, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents could ask police to hold the suspect for several days to give agents time to pick up the person and begin deportation proceedings.
Some city, county and state officials complained that the program was being abused by ICE to round up people arrested for non-violent, minor crimes. That led to city policies that limit local officials, including police, from assisting ICE in those efforts.
More than 300 communities have adopted those policies. ICE argued that potentially dangerous immigrants were set free.
In April, the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department released Francisco Sanchez despite a criminal record that included seven felony convictions — non-violent drug and immigration offenses. Three months later, police allege, he shot Steinle along a pier packed with tourists. He is charged with murder.
Many sanctuary city policies, including San Francisco’s, allow police to hold someone for ICE if the suspect has an extensive or violent criminal history. San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi said his office followed city policy.
Several cities and counties reviewed their policies after the shooting and decided against any changes. Some, such as Santa Clara County, Calif., are considering clarifying the rules to protect most undocumented immigrants but ensure that those with violent criminal records are handed over to ICE.
Other jurisdictions want to do more. “As a father of two children, I could only imagine how that felt,” said Mike Kowall, a Republican state senator from White Lake, Mich.
“The fact that this fellow was locked up and obviously there were other warrants for him, but he wasn’t turned over to ICE to sort it all out, it was really disturbing.”
Kowall filed a bill that would prohibit any government agency in the state from enacting sanctuary policies. The bill is moving through the Michigan Legislature, and Kowall said he has enough support to get it passed this year.
“We’ve become so multiculturalist that we don’t have the common sense to see that we’re ruining our country.”
North Carolina State Rep.
George Cleveland