SoCal Congressman Seeks to De-Fund 'Sanctuary Cities'

By City News Service and AUTUMN JOHNSON

A Temecula congressman on Thursday introduced a bill proposing to strip federal funding away from so-called “sanctuary cities” that maintain policies shielding undocumented immigrants suspected or convicted of committing crimes from deportation.

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Temecula, submitted his “Enforce the Law for Sanctuary Cities Act” in direct response to last week’s fatal shooting of 32- year-old Pleasanton native Kathryn Steinle in San Francisco at Pier 14. Convicted felon Juan Francisco Lopez- Sanchez, a Mexican national who reportedly had been deported multiple times, has been charged with murder.

Hunter has submitted bills in the past to penalize cities and states for preventing enforcement of federal immigration statutes, though none of the proposals have been signed into law. The current one is much broader, according to the congressman.

“States and cities that refuse to enforce federal immigration laws directly undermine enforcement efforts and -- as recent events have shown -- present a real danger to citizens,” Hunter said. “If a state or one of its cities wants to call itself a sanctuary and deliberately ignore the law, then Congress shouldn’t hesitate to withhold federal funding until there’s compliance.”

Under Hunter’s proposal, expected to be assigned a House of Representatives committee for vetting in the coming days, the federal Immigration and Nationality Act would be amended to freeze allocations to cities or states with “any law, policy or procedure” that undermines provisions of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.

The bill defines a sanctuary policy as anything that “prohibits state or local law enforcement officials from gathering information regarding the citizenship or immigration status ... of any individual.”

San Francisco and Los Angeles both have specific policies against inquiring whether a suspect meets the federal definition of “illegal alien.”

Critics have blasted the Bay Area’s de facto asylum for undocumented offenders as enabling crimes such as the one Lopez-Sanchez is charged with committing. San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee released a statement Monday saying the city’s policy “protects residents regardless of immigration status and is not intended to protect repeat, serious and violent felons.”

Government officials, law enforcement representatives, the public and even Donald Trump have weighed in on the sanctuary policy. Television host, author and political commentator Bill O’Reilly has started a petition calling for a law, named in Kate’s memory, that would incarcerate deported undocumented immigrants who come back to this country.

The petition reads:

Dear Senator Mitch McConnell and Representative John Boehner:

We, the undersigned, respectfully ask Congress to pass Kate’s Law whereby undocumented aliens who are deported and return to the United States would receive a mandatory five year sentence in a federal penitentiary upon conviction.

Lopez-Sanchez pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder with malice aforethought in a San Francisco courtroom on Tuesday.

Previous:

• In Wake of Fatal SF Pier 14 Shooting, Bill O’Reilly Starts ‘Kate’s Law’ Petition
• Senator Feinstein, SFPOA Argue SF Pier 14 Homicide was Avoidable
• Undocumented Immigrant Charged with Killing Woman at SF Pier Reignites National Debate on Sanctuary Cities

Duncan’s bill seeks to withhold reimbursements under the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, which mitigates the costs of incarcerating undocumented offenders. The proposal also would put the brakes on Byrne Justice Assistance Grant funding, as well as money doled out under the Clinton-era Community-Oriented Policing Services Program, better known as COPS.

“One way we show we’re serious is by hitting localities where it hurts -- and that’s the purse,” Hunter said. “But there should be wide support for a response, such as this proposal, that exercises a constitutional prerogative of Congress in order to uphold the law.”

The 2015 allotments made available for SCAAP, Byrne and COPS totals nearly $800 million, according to Hunter’s office.

Earlier this year, Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., submitted the Davis-Oliver bill, which would permit states, cities and counties to enact their own immigration enforcement measures, as long as they replicate what’s already in place at the federal level. The legislation was inspired by the October 2014 slayings of two Northern California law enforcement officers, Michael Davis and Danny Oliver, allegedly gunned down by Mexican national Luis Enrique Bracamonte, a convicted felon.

Steinle, a Pleasanton native and San Francisco resident, was with her family around 6:30 p.m. on July 1 at Pier 14, just off the Embarcadero in the city’s South Beach neighborhood, when she was struck by gunfire from a large caliber weapon, according to police.

Matt Gonzalez, the chief attorney at the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, said at Lopez-Sanchez’s arraignment Tuesday afternoon that the death of Steinle was tragic but that “very likely this was an accidental shooting.”

In a jailhouse interview with ABC7 KGO News on Sunday, Lopez-Sanchez admitted to shooting Steinle but says it was an accident. During the interview, Lopez-Sanchez says the gun accidentally fired three times after he found it wrapped in a t-shirt.

A funeral was held in Pleasanton Thursday for Steinle. Locals who knew Steinle were stunned and saddened last week as news of her death quickly spread throughout the community. Steinle grew up in Pleasanton and graduated from Amador Valley High.

Previous:

• Family of Pleasanton Woman Fatally Shot in SF Pier Starts Fundraiser to Support Causes She Loved
• Sources: Gun That Killed Woman on SF Pier 14 Possibly Stolen From Federal Agent
• Kate Steinle’s Funeral is in Pleasanton Today
• Parolee Arrested in Murder of Woman Strolling With Family At Popular San Francisco Pier
• Woman Shot, Killed in Broad Daylight Near SF Ferry Building Identified
• Pleasanton Woman Fatally Shot at Pier 14 in San Francisco

Friends and family gathered along the waterfront on Thursday to remember and mourn the woman described as “amazing, compassionate and energetic.” A memorial made up of flowers in Steinle’s honor could be found at Pier 14 over the weekend.

Steinle’s family has been devastated since her death. Her brother, Brad Steinle, started a GoFundMe page in honor of his beloved sister earlier this week. Her family told reporters they are touched by the support from the community.

Duncan Hunter’s official portrait