Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced legislation to block federal funding for sanctuary jurisdictions that do not comply with federal immigration officials.
“No more people should die at the hands of those who ignore our immigration laws and commit crimes. No more families should have to go through what our hearing witnesses have experienced,” Grassley — who held a hearing Tuesday featuring testimony from the family members of illegal immigrant crime victims — said Tuesday.
“Sanctuary jurisdictions are giving a free pass to illegal immigrants who have repeatedly violated this country’s laws and are now going on to commit other serious, violent offenses,” he added.
Grassley’s legislation would withhold certain federal law enforcement grants from localities that do not cooperate with federal immigration officials. The bill would also increase the amount of time an illegal immigrant must spend in prison for illegally returning to the U.S. after a deportation from two to five years.
Two other members of the Senate Judiciary Committee also introduced legislation Tuesday targeting sanctuary cities.
Sens. David Vitter (R-LA) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) introduced a bill to withhold federal funding from sanctuary cities as well.
“It makes no sense to give federal funding to state and local authorities that openly and deliberately violate federal immigration laws. Instead, we should punish sanctuary cities for bucking law enforcement requests,” Vitter said. “Our bill is a sensible, commonsense way to ensure that we are enforcing federal immigration enforcement laws.”
The House is slated to vote on legislation to bar federal grants from sanctuary cities this week.