[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 108 (Monday, July 13, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4993-S4994]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            SANCTUARY POLICY

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, just 12 days ago, Kate Steinle was 
walking along Pier 14 in San Francisco with her father when she was 
shot by an individual in this country illegally. At the age of 32--a 
very young age--her life was taken. Friends and family mourned her 
death and laid her to rest late last week.
  Kate Steinle should be with us today. Her death is a result of weak 
immigration policies, an insecure border, and a lack of will to enforce 
the law. Her alleged killer was deported five times and has a rap sheet 
that dates back to 1991. Despite his criminal background, San 
Francisco's sanctuary policy allowed this man to walk the streets.
  Today we are learning that there are thousands of detainers placed 
each year on undocumented immigrants by Federal officials, but these 
detainers go ignored.
  Detainers are requests to another law enforcement entity that it 
wants to take custody of a person. The Federal Government will ask, for 
instance, a State or local jurisdiction to hold an individual for 48 
hours until the Federal Government can assume custody.
  According to government documents provided by the Center for 
Immigration Studies, between January and September of 2014, there were 
8,811 declined detainers in 276 counties in 43 States, including the 
District of Columbia. Of the 8,811 declined detainers, 62 percent of 
them were associated with over 5,000 individuals who were previously 
charged, convicted of a crime or presented some other public safety 
concern. And nearly 1,900 of the released offenders were arrested for 
another crime once they were released by the sanctuary jurisdiction.
  This is very disturbing--not only to me but to most Americans. There 
is no good rationale for noncooperation between Federal officials and 
State and local law enforcement. Public safety is put at risk when 
State and local officials provide sanctuary to lawbreaking immigrants 
just to make some political point.
  But San Francisco isn't the only one to shoulder blame here. The 
Obama administration has turned a blind eye to law enforcement in this 
area, even releasing thousands of criminal aliens on its own, many of 
whom have gone on to commit serious crimes--even murder. They have also 
turned a blind eye to sanctuary cities, all while challenging States to 
take a more aggressive approach to immigration and enforcing 
immigration laws.
  That is why I wrote to Attorney General Lynch and Department of 
Homeland Security Secretary Johnson just last week. I urged them to 
take control of the situation so that detainers are not ignored and 
undocumented individuals are safely transferred to Federal custody and 
put into deportation proceedings. I implored them to take a more direct 
role in this matter.
  This administration needs to stop turning a blind eye to State and 
local jurisdictions that thumb their nose at the law and harbor 
criminals who are evading immigration authorities.

[[Page S4994]]

  But this isn't a new issue for this administration. I wrote to then-
Secretary Napolitano in 2011 and asked her to intervene in Cook County, 
IL, another sanctuary jurisdiction. I wrote to her again, along with 
then-Attorney General Holder, about sanctuary cities in January of 
2012. They failed to do anything at the time. In fact, since then, 
administration officials have made it clear that detainers did not have 
to be honored.
  The man charged with the murder of Kate Steinle told officials that 
he sought refuge and moved to San Francisco precisely because of its 
sanctuary policy.
  This is a tipping point, however. There are many other victims we 
need to remember.
  That is why, as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, I plan to hold a 
hearing on the President's immigration policies and the tragic effect 
they are having on Americans. I have invited the head of U.S. 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as the Director of U.S. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services to testify. Before they testify, I 
plan to have relatives of victims present to tell Congress how their 
loved ones and how their lives have been forever changed because of 
criminal aliens. This hearing will take place next Tuesday.
  This is far too important an issue to go unresolved. The 
heartbreaking death of Kate Steinle at the hands of a criminal alien in 
the country illegally underscores the need for swift and decisive 
action to prevent further tragedies of this nature.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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