UPDATE: The two bills passed the House on Thursday evening. Kate’s Law got the support of 233 Republicans and 24 Democrats. Just one Republican voted against the bill, with 166 Democrats also voting against it. The No Sanctuary for Criminals Act won the votes of 225 Republicans and three Democrats. Seven Republicans voted against the bill, as well as 188 Democrats.
On Thursday morning in Washington, D.C., members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) unanimously condemned two Republican immigration bills that the Latino Democratic lawmakers feel are just adding to growing anti-immigrant rhetoric and creating an atmosphere that racially targets immigrants.
Calling the “No Sanctuary for Criminals Act” (HR 3003) and “Kate’s Law” (HR 3004) “anti-immigrant bills,” CHC chair Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) led a contingent of Latino lawmakers in sharply criticizing the Trump administration and the GOP for bringing these bills to the House of Representatives.
With my CHC colleagues standing up against racial profiling & criminalizing, detaining Latinos #heretostay #twill pic.twitter.com/O1aLT83iPL
— Luis V. Gutierrez (@RepGutierrez) June 29, 2017
@RepEspaillat @HispanicCaucus stand strong to voice opposition to anti-immigrant bills and impact across the nation. pic.twitter.com/NNvvzQhPPl
— Adriano Espaillat (@RepEspaillat) June 29, 2017
.@RepJuanVargas: This isn’t 1st time in US hist we’ve hrd anti-immig hate. Germans, Irish, Italians all subjected, & it was wrong then too.
— America’s Voice (@AmericasVoice) June 29, 2017
.@RepJuanVargas: The racism that is spouting now from WH is catching now, but immigrants will triumph in the end.
— America’s Voice (@AmericasVoice) June 29, 2017
In fighting House #SanctuaryCities crackdown, @RepJuanVargas points out that the Holy Family fled to Egypt to seek safety.
— Jason Calvi (@jcalvi) June 29, 2017
“All of us believe there’s a better course and a better path, and we’re going to vote No,” says Rep. Castro on behalf of @HispanicCaucus.
— Univision News (@UnivisionNews) June 29, 2017
Before the press conference, the CHC had issued this statement:
“These two measures will undercut law enforcement’s ability to keep communities safe, undermine Constitutional protections, and criminalize immigrants. The severe incarceration penalties in H.R. 3004 will swell the number of immigrants in prisons with no criminal convictions and tear families apart. H.R. 3003 will compel states to use limited resources to act as federal immigration agents and will strip federal funding for critical law enforcement and national security initiatives from localities that abide by the Fourth Amendment – both would violate the Tenth Amendment’s ‘commandeering’ principle.”
Here are the two bills that are being put to a vote:
“No Sanctuary for Criminals Act” (HR 3003)
“Kate’s Law” (HR 3004)
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has gone on record about the two bills, saying the following in a statement:
“Countless families and communities have suffered as a result of these ‘sanctuary’ policies, which undermine federal law by safeguarding criminal illegal aliens from federal law enforcement. One victim of these policies was Kate Steinle, who was killed by an illegal alien who had been deported five times and yet still walked the streets freely. Her death was preventable, and she would still be alive today if only the City of San Francisco had put the public’s safety first. How many more Americans must die before we put an end to this madness?
Violent, transnational gangs like MS-13 take advantage of these policies in order to smuggle in drugs, recruit new members from our schools, and pillage and plunder our communities. Closing these loopholes in our laws must be a priority if we are to make America safe from these dangerous transnational organizations.”
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