Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a
Republican-backed bill that would crack down on so-called sanctuary cities by
threatening to withhold funds to local governments that don't cooperate with
federal immigration officials. The bill failed on a 54-45 vote. It
needed 60 to advance.
The Stop Sanctuary Cities Act became a
lightning rod issue ahead of the vote, as GOP sponsors tried to peel off just a
few Democrats to support it while Democratic leaders blasted the legislation as
counterproductive. The White House issued a formal veto threat Tuesday morning,
while the chamber's top Democrat tried to discredit the measure by calling it
"The Donald Trump Act."
But GOP backers cast the legislation
as a critical first step toward reining in the exploding, and risky, practice
of cities and counties ignoring federal immigration law.
"Sanctuary cities and the
associated violent crimes by illegal immigrants are reaching a critical point,
and we cannot wait any longer to take action to protect Americans here at
home," sponsor Sen. David Vitter, R-La., said in a statement.
The bill was considered months after a
young woman's murder in San Francisco allegedly at the hands of an illegal
immigrant touched off a national debate over immigration law.
Vitter had urged colleagues to
"remember Kate Steinle's vicious murder and the tens of thousands of
crimes committed by illegal immigrants within our borders."
Steinle, 32, was killed July 1 while
walking with her dad along a San Francisco pier. The suspect, Juan Francisco
Lopez-Sanchez, had a felony record and had been deported five times -- but
despite a federal immigration detainer request, the city sheriff released him
once an old marijuana charge was dropped. San Francisco is among hundreds of
so-called sanctuary cities that do not cooperate fully with federal immigration
officials.
The White House, though, claimed in a
written statement that the bill "fails to offer comprehensive reforms
needed to fix the Nation's broken immigration laws and undermines current
Administration efforts to remove the most dangerous convicted criminals and to
work collaboratively with State and local law enforcement agencies."
According to the White House, it would
"essentially turn State and local law enforcement into Federal immigration
law enforcement officials, in certain circumstances."
Only two Democrats voted Tuesday to
advance the bill, Sens. Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Joe Manchin of West
Virginia. Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk was the only Republican to vote
"no."
The legislation would have made it
illegal for local governments to ignore immigration-related detainers --
federal requests to notify them before releasing an illegal immigrant so they
can take custody -- and to bar local officials from sharing immigration
information with federal agents.
The bill called for withholding
certain federal funding to any local governments that flout the
policy. The issue, though, became a political football not only on the
presidential campaign trail but on Capitol Hill.
In advance of the vote, Senate
Democratic Leader Harry Reid said on the
floor: "This vile legislation might as well be called 'The Donald
Trump Act.' Like the disgusting and outrageous language championed by Donald
Trump, this legislation paints all immigrants as 'criminals and
rapists.'" As Congress stalled on the sanctuary
city matter, some state governments already are taking action. North Carolina
lawmakers recently voted to make their state the first prohibiting such
policies at the local government level.
Fox News'
Kara Rowland contributed to this report.
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