Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in strong support of
Kate's Law and the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act. This Saturday, July 1, marks 2 years since the tragic death of 32-
year-old Kate Steinle, who was shot and killed by an illegal immigrant
who had seven prior felony convictions and who had also been deported
five times. Kate's death is a clear reminder that we must do more to stop the
abuse of our immigration laws by criminals who repeatedly flaunt the
rule of law by illegally reentering the United States. Kate's Law puts in place new guidelines for stiffer penalties for
criminal aliens who continue to reenter the United States illegally. Kate's Law is desperately needed to protect the residents of the State
of Texas. Nicodemo Coria-Gonzalez--who had been deported five times to Mexico
for crimes, including three DWIs--reentered the United States illegally
and was charged with committing multiple sexual assaults and kidnapped
a woman solely for the purpose of setting her on fire. Current policy enables criminals to roam American streets--no matter
where they come from--with little fear of arrest and deportation. Kate's Law imposes stronger consequences and is an important step in
restoring law and order. It will protect American lives. Sadly, there are local and State officials in our great Nation who
put the interests of criminal aliens before the safety of American
citizens. These officials should take the time to meet with the
families of the many victims of these criminal aliens, like I have. They will see the resulting tragedy of sanctuary city policies. To rein in such States and localities, we need to pass the No
Sanctuary for Criminals Act, which will impose consequences on State
and local jurisdictions that ignore Federal immigration law by refusing
to work with Federal immigration officials to remove criminal aliens
from the United States. In the first month of the Trump administration, Immigration and
Customs Enforcement issued over 3,000 detainers. These are orders for
local authorities to keep criminal aliens in custody for 48 hours to
enable ICE agents to come and get them for deportation. Remarkably, 206
of these detainers were declined by sanctuary city jurisdictions. In
other words, local authorities deliberately ignored ICE's detainer
request and released these dangerous individuals onto American streets. These weren't just petty criminals, folks. Their crimes included
homicide, rape, assault, domestic violence, indecent exposure to a
minor, sex offenses against a minor, aggravated assault with a weapon,
vehicle theft, kidnapping, driving under the influence, hit and run,
and sexual assault. Passing the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act is common sense, as it
cuts off certain Federal Department of Justice grants to these
sanctuary cities. Our bill redirects these funds to States and
localities that are cooperating with Federal immigration authorities
and making America safer. The message of this legislation is clear: American taxpayers are
tired of footing the bill for States and localities that threaten their
safety. Criminal aliens with final deportation orders make up more than 50
percent of foreign-born inmates sitting in our prisons right now. Our
streets will be made safer by deporting these criminal aliens, rather
than letting them loose onto American streets. Local law enforcement officials should work with Federal law
enforcement agencies to keep criminals out of our country and off of
these streets. This is why we must pass Kate's Law and the No Sanctuary
for Criminals Act to prevent other deaths like Kate Steinle's.
Identified stereotypes
Generalization that undocumented immigrants are criminals who abuse immigration laws.
Keywords matched
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