From Hunter’s office…
Yesterday, Rep. Duncan Hunter introduced the Enforce the Law for Sanctuary Cities Act. The legislation withholds Byrne Justice Assistance Grants, State Criminal Alien Assistance Program grants, and Community Oriented Policing Services Program grants to sanctuary jurisdictions.
More information below—including FY15 funding allocations for each of the programs identified in the measure.
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Duncan Hunter: Sanctuary Cities ‘Flaunting Federal Law’ Should Not Get Federal Grants
Breitbart
The murder of a young woman on a San Francisco pier at the hands of an illegal immigrant has highlighted the dangers of sanctuary cities policies, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) explained in an interview with Brietbart News.
“A random act like that… kind of just brings to light, brings home, you have some dangerous criminal aliens and nobody is doing anything about it. Nothing. You have cities that are complicit. It is kind of crazy,” Hunter said.
The California lawmaker is introducing legislation Thursday to target sanctuary cities to encourage their compliance with federal immigration laws.
His bill, the “Enforce the Law for Sanctuary Cities Act,” would eliminate Byrne Justice Assistance Grants, State Criminal Alien Assistance Program grants, and Community Oriented Policing Services Program grants to sanctuary jurisdictions.
“Why give federal money to law enforcement agencies in these municipalities that are not obeying federal law, in fact flaunting federal law by releasing folks that are criminals?” Hunter asked.
“It hits them where it hurts,” he said of the bill. “The only way to get their attention is to take their funding.”
Hunter has introduced different iterations of this bill in past Congresses. According to the California Republican, while House leadership expressed an interest in his bill this time around, he says leadership did not show a need for haste to get the bill passed.
“[Leadership] hasn’t shown any interest in my bill until now. Unfortunately it has taken this tragedy to get their attention,” he said.
The legislation comes following the shooting death of Kate Steinle by an illegal immigrant with a lengthy criminal record who had been deported at least five times. The illegal immigrant — Francisco Sanchez — had been released from the San Francisco Sheriff Department less than three months prior due to the city’s sanctuary policies.
The murder, at a popular San Francisco tourist destination, has sparked debate about sanctuary city policies across the country.
“If a city is not going to comply with federal law and put the public in danger, at risk, then they should not get federal money to do that,” Hunter said.
In FY 2015, Congress allocated $376 million for Byrne Justice Assistance Grants, $185 million for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program grants, and $208 million for the Community Oriented Policing Services Program grants.
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Original July 9 post, from Hunter’s office…
Rep. Duncan Hunter will once again introduce legislation targeting sanctuary cities. Below is a report from Breitbart.
GOP Rep. Slated To Introduce Legislation Targeting Sanctuary Cities
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) will again introduce legislation targeting sanctuary cities, Breitbart News has learned.
Hunter’s bill would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to restrict funding to any state or locality that has in place a law, policy or procedure in contravention of federal immigration law, preventing “state or local law enforcement officials from gathering information regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual.”
The legislation would make those cities with sanctuary policies or laws in place ineligible for State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) funding. SCAAP reimburses states and localities for the cost of holding illegal immigrants convicted of crimes.
Comments 2
Let me translate the spin here: Mr. Hunter supports using federal money to violate state’s rights by coercing local governments to enforce federal policy. Never mind that his position has been repeatedly held as an unconstitutional violation of the 10th Amendment.
This may be a silly idea but could we not apply the idea of “sanctuary cities” to many federal laws that rely on local cops for enforcement, amongst them being religions expression and end the Mt Soledad controversy once and for all.