Sanctuary Cities: Fugitive Harbors
Like many Americans, I am heartbroken by the tragic death of 32-year-old Kate Steinle, who was murdered earlier this month while on a walk with her father, Jim, in San Francisco. Accused of committing this crime is Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, an illegal immigrant who had previously been deported five times and convicted of seven felonies.
San Francisco is what some refer to as a “sanctuary city,” and does not require that local officials, law enforcement, etc. abide by federal immigration laws. Put simply, these cities essentially refuse to comply with immigration laws on the books and even, as described by the National Journal, “…shelter undocumented immigrations from federal immigration-law enforcement.”
Accordingly, when Lopez-Sanchez was released from jail in March of this year yet again, he found sanctuary in San Francisco.
What transpired as a result is devastating, infuriating, outrageous, etc. We should not tolerate the President’s refusal to enforce our immigration law, including his Administration’s unwillingness to aggressively intervene when these laws go unenforced.
The Administration is failing here, and in doing so is needlessly endangering American lives. It is up to Congress to act.
The Senate and House Judiciary Committees, the latter of which is led by Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), have been examining these policies. Jim Steinle, Kate’s father, has testified at hearings on these issues, advocating for policies which will get “…undocumented immigrant felons off our streets for good.”
I strongly approve of this objective. With my support, the House of Representatives passed the Enforce the Law for Sanctuary Cities Act (H.R. 3009) on July 23, the same day Mr. Steinle testified before the House Judiciary Committee. This bill would remove State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) funding for states or localities with policies that do not enforce federal immigration laws (entities that refuse to communicate an individual’s citizenship or immigration status with Immigration and Naturalization Services, those that prevent their law enforcement from gathering information regarding citizenship or immigration status, etc). This bill now awaits a vote in the Senate.
Another bill, the Michael David, Jr. and Danny Oliver in Honor of State and Local Law Enforcement Act (H.R. 1148), would prevent sanctuary cities from receiving certain federal grants, expedite the removal of criminal aliens, etc. David and Oliver were killed by a twice-deported alien. This bill has passed the House Judiciary Committee, and awaits a vote by the full House of Representatives.
The tragic death of Kate Steinle is a stark reminder that one of our top priorities should be defending America’s borders and enforcing our laws, not accommodating those who break them. The House is taking action, and members of the Senate are also looking to crack down on sanctuary cities. The Administration ought to follow suit, enforce our nation’s immigration laws, and seek to protect the American people as well as the rule of law.
NASA – 1958 to Today
On July 29, 1958, Congress passed legislation creating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) which coordinates our nation’s space activities. Since that time, NASA has been involved in expeditions to learn more about the universe, launched satellites which assist with weather forecasting, global communications, etc., and more.
Space – the final frontier… NASA continues making news and achieving remarkable things to this day. Its New Horizons spacecraft recently sent to Earth new images of Pluto in the first ever flyby of the dwarf planet. The space probe was about 3 billion miles from Earth, and came within approximately 7,800 miles of Pluto’s surface.
Further, NASA’s Kepler exoplanet explorer recently discovered a planet in a “habitable zone” (meaning that liquid water could pool on the planet’s surface) around a star, a grouping that resembles Earth’s relationship with the Sun. NASA scientists are describing this planet, Kepler-452b, as an older, bigger cousin to Earth.
Happy birthday, NASA. I anticipate many more years of exploration.
Congratulations!
As some of you may know, I grew up swimming competitively, and still swim regularly to this day. My children enjoy swimming competitively as well.
This past weekend was the 51st Roanoke Valley Aquatic Association Duane Whitenack City-County Championship Swim Meet. More than 950 swimmers, including my family, competed in this two-day meet.
One of the adults participating was Doug Doughty, a swimming buddy and sports writer for the Roanoke Times. He reached a notable milestone, having now swum in 100 races at the City-County Meet over the years.
Congratulations, Doug, on this achievement. I wish you many more years of success.
If you have questions, concerns, or comments, feel free to contact my office. You can call my Abingdon office at 276-525-1405 or my Christiansburg office at 540-381-5671. To reach my office via email, please visit my website at www.morgangriffith.house.gov. Also on my website is the latest material from my office, including information on votes recently taken on the floor of the House of Representatives.
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