The White House is threatening to veto a Senate Republican bill that would defund sanctuary cities for illegal immigrants, in an attempt to draw a line in the sand on illegal immigration.
“The Administration believes that these provisions would lead to mistrust between communities and State and local law enforcement agencies; undermine the ability of law enforcement to keep communities safe across the country; and impede our efforts to safely, fairly, and effectively enforce the Nation’s immigration laws,” reads the statement from the White House Office of Management and Budget, released today.
Officials argued that the Obama administration favored a different approach, including an “earned path to citizenship” for illegal immigrants currently in the country.
The bill is sponsored by Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) and co-sponsored by presidential candidates Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)
The bill failed to advance in the Senate, however, as Democrats filibustered the motion making it unable to reach the required 60 vote threshold. The vote was 54-45.
In a floor speech, Sen. Ted Cruz suggested that the scheduled bill was a “show vote.”
“I salute leadership for bringing up this vote, but if a party-line vote blocks it, then the next step is not simply to have a vote,” he said. “The next step is to attach this legislation to must-pass legislation and to actually fix the problem.”
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