AP
July 20, 2015
The
House will take up a bill this week blocking funding for so-called
"sanctuary cities" that resist turning over immigrants to federal
authorities.
The
move follows the shooting death of a woman in San Francisco this month,
allegedly by an immigrant with a criminal record and without legal
status.
San Francisco authorities had released the man despite a request from federal officials to keep him in custody.
That
was in line with a practice by San Francisco and other jurisdictions
that have begun refusing to cooperate with federal immigration orders
amid concerns over their
legality and their impact on immigrant communities.
The
bill by Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter of California would block
certain federal grants to cities that don't honor federal immigration
requests.
A similar proposal has been advanced in the Senate, but it's unclear how far it will go.
The
U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National League of Cities on Monday
sent a letter to lawmakers protesting any such legislation. "We believe
that decisions related
to how law enforcement agencies prioritize their resources, direct
their workforce and define the duties of their employees must reside
with local government leadership," the letter reads. "This includes
defining the role of local police officers in the context
of enforcing federal immigration laws."
Meanwhile,
the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday will hear from Jim Steinle,
father of Kathryn Steinle, the 32-year-old woman who was shot in San
Francisco. Steinle
was walking with his daughter along a popular pier in daylight when the
shooting happened.
The
Archbishop of San Francisco sent a letter Monday urging the committee
to "avoid the implementation of policies that punish all immigrants for
the transgressions of
a small minority."
"I
applaud the commitment to public safety of the City of San Francisco
and other local jurisdictions and support their right to exercise
reasonable and appropriate discretion
in the handling of immigrant detainees," Archbishop Salvatore J.
Cordileone wrote. "A just and humanitarian policy should not be
abandoned because of flaws in the system."
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
No comments:
Post a Comment