Friend –
Wanted to be sure you saw that the House of Representatives passed two bills yesterday -- with my support -- to protect public safety and better enforce our laws against criminals who are in our country illegally. Here’s a quick breakdown:
- Combating sanctuary policies. We passed the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act (H.R. 3003) to ensure our laws are enforced and to stop dangerous “sanctuary” policies that willfully prohibit local cooperation or communication with federal immigration enforcement and can end up shielding criminal illegal immigrants.
- Enhancing penalties for deported felons who return to the U.S. We also passed Kate’s Law (H.R. 3004), which was named after Kate Steinle, a young woman who was killed by an unlawful immigrant who was a convicted felon and had previously been deported five times. This bill strengthens penalties for deported felons who return to the U.S. in order to prevent unlawful immigrants who commit serious crimes from becoming repeat offenders, and prevent future tragedies like Ms. Steinle's senseless murder.
We are a nation of immigrants, but we are also a nation of laws and we must enforce those laws. We must welcome those who enter our country legally, and work to make that process more effective and efficient. But we must also ensure there are consequences for convicted criminals who are in our country illegally. I will keep you posted as we continue to work to keep everyone in our communities safe.
