Congressional Record, Volume 161 Issue 152 (Monday, October 19, 2015)

[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 152 (Monday, October 19, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7290-S7301]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

STOP SANCTUARY POLICIES AND PROTECT AMERICANS ACT--MOTION TO PROCEED

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the
Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S. 2146,
which the clerk will report.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 252, S. 2146, a bill to
hold sanctuary jurisdictions accountable for defying Federal
law, to increase penalties for individuals who illegally
reenter the United States after being removed, and to provide
liability protection for State and local law enforcement who
cooperate with Federal law enforcement and for other
purposes.

Mr. REID. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Coats). Without objection, it is so
ordered.

Tragedy of the Lost Cargo Ship ``El Faro''

Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, on September 29, an almost 800-foot cargo
container vessel, the El Faro, a cargo ship carrying 33 men and women
from Florida, left port in Jacksonville, FL, bound for Puerto Rico.
There is a regular trade route between San Juan and Jacksonville, and a
lot of the goods the Puerto Rican Commonwealth receives are shipped by
cargo container from the Port of Jacksonville.
Three hours before it left port, the tropical storm that had been
brewing had changed its status from a tropical storm to a hurricane,
and over the course of the next 2 days, with communications from the
ship, that hurricane started to intensify, starting out as a category
1, category 2, and later a category 3.
On the morning of the third day, October 1, at 7 a.m., there was a
communication from the captain of the ship, first left on a voice mail
and then he immediately called back the person in the communications
department of the shipping company who talked to the captain. The
captain, in a very calm voice on both the telephone message voice mail
and his communication with the person, said they had taken a position
where the ship was leaning 15 degrees. They were in rough seas, and
they had lost power. Apparently in that communication, his voice was
very calm and had some degree of confidence that he was going to be
able to get the ship back underway, under power.
It is not good to have a ship that is tilting 15 degrees in the
middle of a storm, much less an oncoming hurricane, and with no power
because that does not allow you to keep it directly into the waves or
going away from the waves. Instead, the ship is going to turn
broadside, with the full force of the waves hitting the side of the
ship, and the ship was already listing 15 degrees to one side.
Well, that was the last communication. The hurricane had turned in a

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southwesterly direction, and eventually, according to the forecast, it
finally made that turn to the right to start taking it north, and as a
result it did not hit the continental east coast of the United States.
It was out to the east of the Bahama Islands.
The hurricane was still in the vicinity, so it was another 2 days
before the hurricane subsided enough that the U.S. Coast Guard could
get in there, supplemented by the U.S. Navy, to start looking for
survivors.
Let me say something about the Coast Guard. We have the Coast Guard
in our jurisdiction in the Commerce Committee. It is an extremely
professional military operation. I spent time this past summer with the
Coast Guard up in Alaska. They are so good at what they do that the
U.S. Navy can take its resources and use them elsewhere on the Alaska
coast, which includes the Bering Sea and the Bering Strait, which we
share with Russia, and the Coast Guard does an extraordinary job. Of
course, throughout the Caribbean and all around my State of Florida,
the Coast Guard stands tall. They rescue folks.
It took them some time before they could get their C-130s flying in--
and some of those may well have been Air Force. Until the Coast Guard
could get their C-130s and H-60 helicopters with the swimmers who
propel down from the helicopter to rescue survivors--it took them that
long, and they started seeing debris.
I have seen a picture of the lifeboat. It is an old lifeboat, an open
lifeboat. If you saw the movie ``Captain Phillips,'' Captain Phillips
and the people who had taken over the ship went in that covered orange
lifeboat. They propelled it off the back of the ship, and it dove into
the water. These were just plain lifeboats. They found a life preserver
floating. Indeed, they found a life preserver suit, which is a body
suit that inflates when in the water. When the helicopter finally got
there and checked it, they found no survivor in it. They saw remains.
They were still actively searching for any survivors. In this
particular case, when the swimmer went into the water, there were only
remains left in the body suit, partially decomposed and so forth. This
Senator cannot say enough about the Coast Guard.
Those who were on that ship were from the State of Florida. Maritime
work is a part of our culture, and we know the extreme importance of
these jobs and the very real risk mariners face in their tough jobs.
They are taken away from home for weeks and months to do hard work.
Without our maritime efforts, we could not survive. That is where the
biggest part of our shipping from other places is, on the sea, and our
mariners provide this critical service. They move products and cargo
that drive our economy. Look at the economic engines of the seaports.
This has been a tremendous loss for us--not the loss of the cargo,
which was certainly an economic loss, but the loss of 33 lives. It is
especially a loss for the families and friends who knew and loved the
crew of the El Faro. We share their grief.
The loss of this ship raised many questions, so over the recess I
went to Jacksonville. I went to the port. I talked to the National
Transportation Safety Board. I talked to the Coast Guard. They have
opened an investigation. I am giving these remarks to the Senate at
this time because tomorrow we expect a preliminary report from the
National Transportation Safety Board.

In dock is the sister ship, the El Yunque. One ship would be in one
port and the other ship in the other port, and they would cross. In
fact, those two ships crossed in the Caribbean within sight of each
other before the El Faro, heading southeast, got into trouble. So I
wanted to go there because it is our Commerce Committee that has the
job of seeing that these agencies are doing as thorough a job as
possible.
We expectantly await that report. I know we want all of the answers
right now. It is important that a thorough examination is conducted to
find out exactly what happened. For the families and friends of those
lost on the El Faro, and for the safety of all mariners, we are going
to make sure that we get the answers.
What would I speculate? Well, I certainly do not have the expertise
in the sea. But if you get a call and the captain's voice is calm, and
he says that we are listing 15 degrees, then there has been some breach
of the ship. Likely, there is water inside of the ship. If in that same
phone call that you get he is saying that we have lost power, then we
know that there is the making of a disaster. Why didn't the captain and
the crew know that the hurricane had become a hurricane that was
announced by the National Weather Service and the National Hurricane
Center 3 hours before they left the Port of Jacksonville? What caused
the captain to think he could sail, and sail in the direction of an
oncoming hurricane, and that he would not get into its effects? Why did
the engines cut off so that he lost power? All of these things we don't
know, but we expectantly look forward to getting some answers maybe in
this preliminary report tomorrow.
So, in honor of those lost on board the El Faro, I would simply
conclude my remarks by asking for a moment of silence.
Thank you.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I can still remember the day in June a few
years ago, June 27, 2013--2\1/2\ years ago. The Senate gathered and
voted on comprehensive immigration reform. The vote was 68 to 22. The
bill meant a lot to many of us. Eight of us--four Democrats and four
Republicans--had literally worked for months trying to craft a bill to
address the massive immigration system in America, a system that is
terribly broken.
I think it surprised a lot of people, but we did it. Democrats and
Republicans agreeing on something--there is a headliner. Who sat across
the table? Not an easy jury to decide any issue when it came to Senate
business. On our side of the table were Chuck Schumer of New York,
chair of the Senate immigration subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee
at that point; myself; Bob Menendez, Hispanic American Senator from the
State of New Jersey; and Michael Bennet of Colorado--four of us.
On the opposite side of the table, John McCain led the effort on the
Republican side, along with Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who had a
background in law enforcement in the military and is currently running
for President. Next to him, Marco Rubio from the State of Florida,
Cuban American, came to this undertaking. He, too, is running for
President of the United States; and Jeff Flake of Arizona, a
conservative Republican.

We worked for months. We went through every provision and came to a
bipartisan agreement to move the bill forward. We passed it 68 to 22. I
think it would have been a dramatic improvement over the current laws
or lack of laws in America.
The House of Representatives refused to call it up, wouldn't even
bring the matter before its committees, and never had a debate on any
immigration issue in the 2\1/2\ years since. They missed an
opportunity, an opportunity to do something important and a rare
opportunity where Democrats and Republicans happened to agree on a
solution. That is hard to come by in this place.
This bill would have strengthened border security, cracked down on
illegal immigration, protected American workers, and established a
tough but fair path for 11 million undocumented immigrants in this
country who are currently living here, and it gave them a path to legal
status. They would pay their taxes, pay their fines, go through a
criminal background check, and then they would be eligible--not before
then.
Democrats were in the majority of the Senate at that moment. We
reached across the aisle to work with Republicans, so the bill was
truly bipartisan. Well, it is a shame that the Republican-controlled
House of Representatives would not even consider the bill. We asked
them: Just call the bill. If it is going to be defeated, call it.

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No, we are not going to consider any immigration reform--and they
have not.
We are in a new Senate now, a new Senate under control of the other
party, and what has been the approach to immigration? Unfortunately,
little time has been spent trying to find common ground. First, some
Senate Republicans threatened to shut down the Department of Homeland
Security. This is the Department that not only has us take our shoes
off at the airport, they are literally trying to protect us from
another act of terrorism in the United States. For months, the Senate
Republicans refused to pass an appropriations bill to fund the
Department of Homeland Security until the Democrats would accept anti-
immigrant amendments. After we repeatedly rejected this approach, they
finally relented and passed a clean appropriations bill for this
important Department for America's security.
Now here we go again. Some Senate Republicans have brought partisan
legislation to the floor--and understand this--to defund, remove the
funding from law enforcement efforts in this country. I don't know what
is happening in many places, but I do know what is happening in the
Midwest. We have seen violent crime, gun-related crime, go up
dramatically, a 20-percent increase in gun-related deaths this year in
Chicago over the previous year. In the city of Milwaukee, there is a
100-percent increase in gun-related crime this year.
So why would we even consider a bill that is before us on the floor
of the Senate, offered by the Senator from Louisiana, to reduce funding
for law enforcement and police departments? Senator Vitter has offered
a bill that would block important police, disaster relief, and other
funding from communities that do not share immigration information with
the Federal Government or don't hold a detainee at the behest of
Federal immigration authorities. My Republican colleagues know this
bill has no chance to become law. They have made no effort to engage
the Democrats in a bipartisan conversation. It may pass the Senate--but
I doubt it--and if it does, the President would veto it. This is done
for reasons other than passing a bill and creating a new law.
Some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle claim they were
responding to the tragic--and, yes, it was tragic--death of Kate
Steinle, a young woman who was allegedly shot and killed by Francisco
Sanchez, an undocumented immigrant with a long criminal history. Mr.
Sanchez had several drug convictions. He illegally reentered the United
States several times after he was deported. Earlier this year, he
finished his third prison sentence for illegal reentry.
The Bureau of Prisons should have turned Mr. Sanchez over to the
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Department to be deported, but
instead they sent him to San Francisco to face a 20-year-old marijuana
charge. Not surprisingly, local authorities decided not to prosecute
this old charge, so sadly, unfortunately, tragically he was released.
This never ever should have happened. Federal and local authorities
must do a better job of communicating and coordinating so undocumented
immigrants with serious criminal records are detained and deported,
period.
The bill before us doesn't solve the problem which I have just
described. It wouldn't have prevented the tragic death of this young
woman. In fact, this legislation would actually make us less safe by
threatening communities with the loss of millions of dollars in
critical Federal funding for local law enforcement, as well as
discouraging immigrants from cooperating with local police.
The Chicago Tribune--not known as any liberal publication--published
an editorial opposing the bill that is coming before us. They said:
``Threatening to take money away from local police is a sound bite, not
a solution.''
Republican Congressman Bob Dold, from my home State of Illinois, was
one of five Republicans who voted against the House version of the
bill. He said: ``Cutting funding for local law enforcement would not
have prevented this horrible crime.''
What would the consequences be of passing the Vitter bill that is
pending before the Senate? At risk are tens of millions of dollars in
funding from several programs. The State Criminal Alien Assistance
Program, also known as SCAAP, helps cover the costs for States and
localities to detain undocumented immigrants with serious criminal
records; the Community Oriented Policing Services Grant Program--which
we all know about from serving in the Senate because our local police
departments benefit from COPS funding; and the community development
block grants provide critical funding for local communities for
disaster relief and other priorities.
I wish to give some examples from Illinois of the impact of the
Vitter bill. In fiscal year 2014, Cook County--our largest county--
received $1,381,552 in SCAAP funding, and in fiscal year 2015, Chicago
received $72,477,673 in CDBG funding, and $3,125,000 in funding through
the COPS Hiring Program to address gun violence.
The Fraternal Order of Police sent a letter opposing the Vitter
bill--which is before the Senate--on behalf of its 330,000 police
members who belong to that fraternity. This is what it said: ``It is
wrong and a gross unfairness to punish these brave men and women, or
the citizens they serve, because Congress disagrees with their
enforcement priorities with respect to our nation's immigration laws.''
This bill is supposedly an effort to punish so-called sanctuary
cities--including some in my own home State--that have policies
limiting dealings between Federal immigration authorities and local law
enforcement, but the goal of these policies is to promote effective
community policing by encouraging immigrant communities to trust local
police. Many of these policies were established in response to Secure
Communities, a program created by the Bush administration and a program
which badly damaged the relationship between immigrant communities and
local law enforcement around the country.
My State police signed a memorandum of agreement with immigration
authorities to participate in Secure Communities. The agreement said
the goal of the program was to ``identify, detain, and remove from the
United States aliens who have been convicted of serious criminal
offenses.''
However, it turned out more than 30 percent of those deported from
Illinois in the program had no criminal record. Less than 20 percent
had been convicted of a serious crime. Illinois law enforcement
officials say the program eroded trust in law enforcement in the
Hispanic community. Their conclusion is backed up by polling data. A
2013 University of Illinois study found that 44 percent of Latinos
report being less likely to contact the police if they are a victim of
crime out of fear that police will inquire about their immigration
status or people they know.
The Vitter bill makes this problem even worse by forcing local law
enforcement to become enforcers of immigration laws. I received a
letter opposing the Vitter bill from the Law Enforcement Immigration
Task Force, a group of more than 30 law enforcement officials,
including Republican Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran, a local law
enforcement official from my home State whom I have worked with in the
past. These officials are very concerned that this bill will make our
communities less safe by discouraging immigrants from cooperating with
law enforcement.
This is what the local law enforcement in Illinois said:

When state and local law enforcement agencies are required
to enforce federal immigration laws, undocumented residents
may fear that they, or people they know or depend upon, risk
deportation by working with law enforcement. This fear
undermines trust between law enforcement and the communities
we serve, creating too much room for dangerous criminals and
violent crime.

The Vitter bill also dramatically increases penalties for illegal
entry, including two new mandatory minimum criminal sentences.
Estimates are that these new penalties created by the Vitter bill would
require approximately 18,600 new prison beds and up to 12 new Federal
prisons. New Federal prisons cost several hundred million dollars to
construct, tens of millions of dollars to operate. In sum, these new
mandatory minimums will cost taxpayers billions of dollars. There is no
suggestion in this bill of how we would pay for that.
The real solution to this problem is smart and targeted immigration
enforcement that encourages cooperation

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with local law enforcement. The Homeland Security Department only has
enough funding to deport a small fraction of the undocumented
immigrants in our country. President Obama has wisely said we should
focus on those who could do us harm. In fact, 85 percent of those
deported from the interior of our country in fiscal year 2014 had a
criminal conviction--and they should have been deported--compared to
only 38 percent in 2008 under the previous President. This President's
policies has focused our limited resources on deporting dangerous
people, deporting felons, not families; criminals, not children.
As part of the effort to target immigration enforcement, Secretary of
Homeland Security Jeh Johnson has established the Priority Enforcement
Program, also known as PEP, to replace security communities. PEP is
designed to protect our safety while improving trust between local
police and communities they serve. The program enables DHS to work with
State and local law enforcement to take custody of individuals who pose
a danger to public safety before they are released. PEP has only been
operational for a short time. We need to give it a chance to work
before we rush in to pass this legislation which could only make the
problem worse.
The best way to fix our broken immigration system, incidentally, and
make our communities safer is to pass comprehensive immigration reform
once and for all. The bill the Senate passed in 2013 would have made
unprecedented investments in border security, would have cracked down
on employers who hire undocumented immigrants, and ramped up interior
enforcement of immigration laws.
The bill would have invested $46 billion in new resources in border
security, including no fewer than 38,405 U.S. Border Patrol agents
along the southern border, enhanced penalties for increased immigration
violations with sentences of up to 20 years for those with criminal
histories, and increased penalties for passport and immigration
document trafficking and fraud.
Most important, this bill would bring millions of people out of the
shadows and require them to prove their identity, pass a criminal
background check, and pay all fines and taxes. This would allow
immigration enforcement to focus on the people who are truly a public
safety threat.
So instead of this Senate taking up a bipartisan bill for true
immigration reform, we have this bill, a bill not likely to go much
further than this procedural motion which we will face tomorrow.
This bill on the floor would not have prevented Kate Steinle's tragic
death. Here is the reality: The vast majority of immigrants are hard-
working, law-abiding individuals with strong family values. I work with
them, I know them, I trust them, and I believe they have an important
role to play when it comes to this country's future.
Many studies have shown that immigrants are less likely to commit
serious crimes than native-born individuals. This bill unfortunately
focuses on the violent acts of the few to scapegoat an entire
community. This is dangerous and irresponsible. This bill continues
down a dangerous path by promoting the myths that immigrants pose a
threat to our Nation's safety.
I urge my colleagues to reject this legislation.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for up to
15 minutes as in morning business.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.

Recognizing Hospice of the Western Reserve

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, both of my parents spent their final days
in hospice care. My father passed away a decade and a half ago at the
age of 89. My mother was in hospice care for a few weeks--seemed to be
long weeks, but a few weeks--and died at 88 6\1/2\ years ago.
I saw firsthand how home care workers and hospice workers make a
difference in someone's final days and the comfort they bring to
families. During the last moments of my mom's life, people who didn't
even know her showed incredible care and kindness, and helped to bring
peace to her, comfort to her, and to our family.
Last week I visited in my home city of Cleveland. Only a few miles
away is the hospice Western Reserve, one of the best not-for-profit
hospices in the entire Midwest. I held a roundtable with a number of
employees who have made a career of caring for Ohioans reaching the end
of their lives.
Western Reserve's core values are: compassion, excellence, quality,
integrity, service, and stewardship. Each worker there--from social
workers to cooks to maintenance workers to nurses--embodies these
traits. They work in what some might assume to be a sad environment.
Many of the patients they care for die in a matter of days or weeks.
Each day they encounter not only Ohioans who are near the end of life
but they spend time with family members who are preparing to grieve for
a loved one.

Yet Hospice of the Western Reserve is far from being a depressing
workplace. The staff is committed to caring for parents and families,
and they imbue their work--and their patients and their workplace--with
a fascinating joy of serving others.
Hospice nursing assistant Audrey Boylan said to me: ``It's an honor
to be here.'' Laquita Bradford, a dietary server, talked about the
sense of ``togetherness'' among the staff. She compared it to an
extended family.
Workers spoke about other jobs they had elsewhere and all echoed the
same sentiment: ``It's different here'' at the Hospice of the Western
Reserve. As I said, it is one of the best not-for-profit hospices in
the Midwest. Their compassion and commitment has a deep impact on their
patients and their families and, frankly, on me in my visit.
One of the social workers, Jennifer Stevens, spoke about how she
helps families and patients understand where they are in their journey.
A volunteer, Roz Fabrotta, a longtime teacher and now a volunteer for
Hospice of the Western Reserve, spoke with passion about her work in
the bereavement camp that the hospice runs for 6- to 12-year-olds who
have lost loved ones. There is not any real revenue for that
bereavement camp. That is what not-for-profit hospices often do.
Western Reserve's Elisabeth Severance Bereavement Center is funded by
raising money and is dedicated to helping families through these heart-
wrenching situations. Its staff, for instance, provided counseling to
families after the senseless shooting at Chardon High School in
February of 2012, where several students were killed, and their
practices were used as a model by counselors after the tragic shooting
at Sandy Hook.
Through all this work, these men and women maintain a positive
atmosphere for each other and for those they serve.
Keli Keyes is a nurse at the hospice. Her coworker and pet, Linus the
therapy dog, who was with us at our roundtable, is a beautiful golden
retriever who accompanies her to work each day. All he has to do to
bring a smile to patients and family members is to snuggle up to them
or put his nose up to their hands.
Western Reserve has more than 3,000 volunteers. I think that tells
you all you need to know about this place--that so many Ohioans are
willing to take time out of their busy lives to be part of their
community and to care for their fellow citizens.
Alvin Fomby, who used to work at Quicken Loans Arena and used to know
LeBron James, decided he would rather work at the hospice, where he
could make a real difference in preparing food for families and people
in hospice care.
Janet Bildstein, who works at the Hospice of Western Reserve, grew up
only a few blocks from there and has spent many years working at the
hospice.
Joe Tyler, who makes things work, reminded me of my father-in-law,
who was a maintenance worker at Electric Utility Company in Ashtabula,
OH, and he could fix anything. He carried a 12-foot wrench around with
him at the powerplant and he could fix anything. Joe Tyler reminded me
of that. He said he works under more pressure, which he loves, to fix
something in a room immediately. If the air-conditioning or the heating
or the electricity goes out or if something happens to a lamp, he needs
to take care of these families right away.

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The men and women at this hospice are an inspiration to all of us,
but they are not alone.

Recognizing My Brother's Keeper

Mr. President, last year President Obama launched the My Brother's
Keeper challenge to expand opportunities for a group that is far too
often left behind in this country--African-American boys and young men.
The President reached out to cities across the country to find people
committed to ensuring all Americans have access to the opportunities
they deserve. One of the cities that rose to the occasion is Dayton,
OH.
I had the privilege last week of visiting one of America's great
cities--Dayton--with its mayor, Nan Whaley, a young bright mayor. I
also visited with Broderick Johnson, who is the chair of the My
Brother's Keeper Task Force, and works in the White House with the
President. We held a roundtable with policymakers and activists and
citizens who had heeded this call to action.
Dayton already, with Mayor Whaley and others, has a number of
successful programs in place: Learn to Earn, City of Learners, and
several mentorship programs. I heard the stories of mentors and their
mentees, who make a real difference in the lives of so many.
I met Belmont High School senior Miles Tidd. Miles grew up with a
single mother and had a tough time early in high school. He wanted to
drop out. Miles was matched with mentor Quinn Howard. Quinn wouldn't
let Miles drop out. He was the stable figure in Miles' life, who
clearly loves him and cares about him, and he pushes him to do better.
Miles is close to graduating. After 3 years of Junior ROTC, he wants to
join the Air Force Reserves and to go to the Citadel.
I met Miles and Quinn at our roundtable at the Dayton Boys
Preparatory Academy. Miles said that ``the best way to make yourself
feel better is to look outside yourself, and go out of your way to help
others.''
That seemed to be the theme of these young men, ages 15 to 20, who
had been helped by a mentor. Their goal in life is to now turn around
and help somebody younger than they are.
Also at the roundtable was Alexander Worthy, who wore a Dayton ``Live
With Honor'' T-shirt, referring to the campaign launched by the Dayton
Community Police Council. The campaign asks Dayton residents to come
together to combat a culture of violence and rethink what it means to
live with honor.
Alexander learned discipline and work ethic from his mentor, Bishop
Mark McGuire. Bishop McGuire worked with Alexander to help him keep his
summer job at their church, and Alexander now participates in the
church's Young Life youth group.
We also heard from mentor Terry Purdue. Terry is a Dayton native. He
grew up with a lot of good folks around him, a strong father and
mother, but still made plenty of mistakes. He now serves as a mentor
and a police officer on Dayton's West Side. He formed a group called
the Unit. The Unit holds free work-out classes 3 days a week downtown.
Thousands have joined the Unit for a class, and at each one he asks
participants to volunteer to help the Dayton community. The Unit takes
on a new project each month.
At one roundtable the mentors and mentees told their stories. One
middle schooler, James Carr, was, at first, too shy to speak. Finally,
after seeing other boys speak up, James raised his hand and talked
about how he picks up trash around his school to keep it clean and
helps special ed students at school. There is a boy in his class who is
blind, and he helps him walk to lunch and to the bathroom. James talked
about wanting to make good grades and most of all, he said, he just
wants to ``stay normal.''
Think about that. This child wasn't even in high school yet, and for
him it is a struggle to stay normal. That is why the work of My
Brother's Keeper is so important. Mentors can provide a steady
influence in the lives of children for whom living a stable life--one
that those of us privileged enough to serve in this body would consider
``normal''--is a daily struggle.
Frederick Douglass said that it is ``easier to build strong children
than repair broken men.'' We need a strategy to allow our children to
reach their full potential, not one that accepts that an entire segment
of our citizens will grow up with limited options. It means ending
disparities in our education system. It means continuing to work to
reform our criminal justice system. It means working to rebuild the
broken relationship between police departments in far too many cities
and the communities they serve. It means taking steps to address the
employment gap that exists between young men of color and other
Americans. It means working to end the scourge of gun violence in our
communities. It means providing those in our society who have made
mistakes a second chance.
I encourage all of my colleagues to support the work My Brother's
Keeper is doing. We also have one in Columbus. We hope to see more of
those in Ohio. It is up to all of us to ensure that all of our
children, regardless of their ZIP code or the color of their skin, have
the opportunity to succeed.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.
Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I rise today in support of an important
piece of legislation that I have introduced that would bring an end to
the dangerous existence of sanctuary cities--the Stop Sanctuary
Policies and Protect Americans Act.
The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of
1996 included language that specifically prohibits State and local
governments from enacting sanctuary policies. Despite this, cities
continually violate that provision by having sanctuary policies in
place. If these cities and localities want to continue to blatantly
disregard Federal law, they should no longer receive certain Federal
funds.
Now, the sanctuary policies that we are talking about fall into two
categories: one, ordinances that bar city employees from asking about a
person's immigration status under any circumstances; and two, policies
that prevent them from reporting a suspected illegal alien to Federal
immigration law enforcement authorities. These sanctuary policies and
sanctuary cities that enact them are dangerous and counterproductive to
both law enforcement efforts and reducing illegal immigration.
We know there are many instances in which an illegal alien is
released by local authorities and then commits a very serious crime--
sometimes a murder or a fatal crime. By now we all know of the tragic
event that renewed our focus on this issue back in July--the murder of
a 32-year-old woman named Kate Steinle in San Francisco.
Kate's suspected murderer was an illegal immigrant who had been
deported 5 times previously and was released this past April by local
law enforcement, specifically citing San Francisco's sanctuary city
laws, defying a request by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
officials to hold him for deportation proceedings. If this illegal
immigrant had been held for deportation proceedings instead of being
set free, Kate Steinle would be alive today--period, end of story.
Unfortunately, San Francisco is far from the only city in the country
carrying out this dangerous policy, and Kate Steinle is far from being
the only victim of a serious crime committed by an illegal immigrant
under these sorts of circumstances.
On July 24, 2015, Marilyn Pharis was brutally raped, tortured, and
murdered in her home in Santa Maria, CA, by an illegal immigrant who
was released from custody because the county sheriff does not honor
detainment. Again, this is a clear instance that would be stopped but
for sanctuary policies.
On July 27, 2015, an illegal immigrant was arrested and accused of
killing 60-year-old Margaret Kostelnik in Ravenna Road, OH. Before
murdering Ms. Kostelnik, the man allegedly attempted to rape a 14-year-
old girl and shoot a woman in a nearby park. The suspect also was
previously in the custody of law enforcement but was released because
the Department of Homeland Security refused to issue a detainer and
take custody of the suspect--a related problem.
On July 30, a 2-year-old girl was brutally beaten by an illegal
immigrant in San Luis Obispo County, CA. He was released from local
custody despite a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer and
extensive criminal history.

[[Page S7295]]

Other cases include last year, when a Virginia man who killed a
Catholic nun in a drunk-driving crash was revealed to be an illegal
alien who had been previously arrested.
An illegal alien committed a shocking execution-style murder of three
college students in the sanctuary city of Newark, NJ, several years
ago. He had been arrested twice before this grizzly crime. In the
aftermath of the murders, the attorney general of New Jersey
effectively eliminated Newark's sanctuary city policy.
Now, according to documents uncovered by a Freedom of Information Act
request by the Center for Immigration Studies, ICE lists at least 340
cities defying Federal law, providing safe haven to illegal immigrants,
including my original hometown of New Orleans. These policies, again,
are a direct infringement of Federal law, and it is simply
unacceptable.
Worse still, these cities are actively releasing criminal illegal
immigrants back into our communities instead of working cooperatively
with Federal officials to deport them or lock them up. I firmly believe
it is time to reverse these illegal policies, to bar them once and for
good. That is why I have joined on this crucial piece of legislation
with Senators Toomey, Grassley, Cruz, Johnson, Cornyn, Sullivan,
Perdue, Isakson, Rubio, Barrasso, and Thune. We are introducing this
legislation and we are getting a vote tomorrow to end the practice of
sanctuary cities violating existing Federal immigration law.

This legislation takes a commonsense approach to this problem, and
there are three key parts to the bill.
First, this bill changes the incentives for cities by creating
penalties for States, local governments, and law enforcement entities
that choose to have these policies in place. These penalties come in
the form of the removal of certain streams of Federal funding for
sanctuary jurisdictions, and the penalties apply to whatever government
entity is actually making that bad decision.
In cases where a law enforcement entity, such as a jail or a police
department, has a policy or practice that refuses to comply with
Federal immigration law, it will be prevented from receiving community-
oriented policing services grants or State Criminal Alien Assistance
Program grants. So that entity directly will be penalized; it is making
the bad decision. On the other hand, if a State or city council or
executive passes a resolution or implements a policy or practice that
refuses to comply with Federal immigration law, then that city or
entity will no longer be available for community development block
grant funds.
Again, we penalize the specific entity or public official involved.
It is important that Federal funds are withheld from the entity that
makes the dangerous decision to allow dangerous illegal immigrants to
walk free rather than turning them over to the Department of Homeland
Security.
Second, we have seen the willingness of jurisdictions to comply with
immigration detainers decrease in recent years due to litigation
pursued by the ACLU. We know dozens of jurisdictions that want to
cooperate and were cooperating but became sanctuary cities in reaction
to these lawsuits. Our legislation deals with this threat head-on and
grants local law enforcement the clear authority to always comply with
ICE detainers. However, it is important to note that we have been very
careful to protect individual rights and have preserved an individual's
right to sue for a violation of their civil or constitutional rights.
But if the problem was with the detainer, then individuals sue ICE and
not the local law enforcement officials.
The third and final part of this legislation deals directly with
those who continue to cross our border illegally, and it establishes
Kate's Law--appropriately named after Kathryn Steinle, whom I mentioned
earlier. Kate's Law increases mandatory minimum sentence requirements
for people who continue to cross the border illegally. Kate's Law will
increase the maximum penalty for illegal reentry from 2 years to 5
years. It also creates a maximum penalty of 10 years for illegal
immigrants who have been denied admission, excluded, deported, or
removed three or more times and then illegally reenter the country.
In order to ensure appropriate treatment of criminal illegal
immigrants, Kate's Law creates a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years
for any illegal immigrant who illegally reenters the country and has
been convicted of an aggravated felony prior to removal or has been
previously convicted twice of illegal reentry. Right now, there are
nearly 170,000 convicted criminal aliens who have been ordered deported
but remain at large in our country. This is a direct result of
nonenforcement policies and failed leadership.
Last year, ICE responded to a request, disclosing that it released
169 convicted illegals from over 130 ZIP Codes in 2013. At least two of
the ZIP Codes mentioned are in Louisiana--Kenner and Baton Rouge--and
dangerous criminals were released through the South Louisiana Detention
Center. This year alone, ICE reported releasing 30,558 unique criminal
illegal immigrants from their custody. Some of the crimes committed by
these criminal aliens include arson, assault, burglary, kidnapping,
larceny, robbery, sexual assault, drunk driving, weapons offenses, and
20 other serious crimes. Why would we ever want to provide safe harbor
to these people? That is what sanctuary cities are doing.
This legislation is supported by a wide range of organizations to
crack down on this problem: the Remembrance Project, NumbersUSA,
Federation for American Immigration Reform, the Federal Law Enforcement
Officers Association, the International Union of Police Associations,
AFL-CIO, the National Association of Police Organizations, the National
Sheriffs' Association, America First Latinos, and letters from the
McCann, Rosenberg, Ronnebeck, Oliver, and Wilkerson families, all of
whom tragically had family members murdered by illegal aliens.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record
letters of support.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:

NumbersUSA

Arlington, VA, October 14, 2015.
Hon. David Vitter,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Vitter: As President of NumbersUSA, a non-
partisan activist network of more than 3 million citizens, I
am writing to express our support for the Stop Sanctuary
Policies and Protect Americans Act.
Following the murder of Kate Steinle, the American people
became acutely aware that while many States and localities
blatantly violate Federal law and release criminal aliens
onto their streets, the Federal government does absolutely
nothing to stop them. Kate's death was far from the first
instance of a murder by a criminal alien that could have been
prevented, and more lives will be lost until Congress finally
acts. We believe that this piece of legislation, S. 2146, is
an appropriate and much needed first step.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),
there are currently 340 ``sanctuary jurisdictions'' in the
United States. Over a 9-month period last year, these
jurisdictions released 9,295 aliens that ICE was seeking to
deport. It is unconscionable that Congress would continue to
provide taxpayer money to these jurisdictions and subsidize
their willful disregard of the law and public safety.
The Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act first
restricts funding from the State Criminal Alien Assistance
Program (SCAAP), from Community Oriented Policing Services
(COPS), and from Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)
for sanctuary jurisdictions. It reallocates those funds to
jurisdictions that cooperate with ICE. The bill also requires
the Department of Homeland Security (OHS) to publicly post a
list of sanctuary jurisdictions online, including the number
of ICE detainers ignored by each jurisdiction. These
provisions would appropriately punish sanctuary
jurisdictions, encourage further compliance with the law,
reward those jurisdictions already in compliance, and ensure
that the public knows where their local governments stand.
Another critical element of this legislation is that it
protects local officers while they carry out ICE detainers,
clarifying that they are acting as agents of ICE with all of
the necessary authority and protection from liability granted
to a Federal law enforcement officer. No law enforcement
officer should fear retribution for following the law.
Finally, this bill increases the maximum penalties for
aliens who illegally reenter the country following denial of
admission, exclusion, deportation, or removal, and creates a
mandatory minimum sentence for those who are convicted of an
aggravated felony or two instances of illegal reentry, all of
which would help protect the public from criminal aliens.
NumbersUSA applauds your leadership on this issue and
stands eager to assist you in

[[Page S7296]]

advancing the Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans
Act.
Sincerely,
Roy Beck,
President and Founder, NumbersUSA.
____

Federation for American

Immigration Reform,

October 19, 2015.
Hon. David Vitter,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Vitter: I am writing to thank you for your
efforts as a United States Senator to end ``sanctuary
cities''--State and local jurisdictions with policies that
obstruct immigration enforcement and compromise public
safety.
Your bill, the Stop Sanctuary Polices and Protect Americans
Act (S. 2146), is a commonsense measure that denies certain
federal grants to jurisdictions that obstruct efforts by the
Department of Homeland Security to identify and remove
illegal aliens, including criminal aliens. Jurisdictions that
interfere with immigration enforcement should not benefit
from federal funds. Additionally, your bill increases
penalties for illegal reentry and sends a message that we
take the enforcement of the nation's immigration laws
seriously.
The tragic death of Kate Steinle over the summer in the
sanctuary city of San Francisco illustrates the necessity of
your bill. As you know, the suspect, Francisco Sanchez, was
in San Francisco law enforcement custody but was released him
back onto the streets--ignoring an ICE detainer request in
the process--because of the sanctuary policy. Ms. Steinle's
death was preventable and the public expects the U.S.
Congress to hold these jurisdictions accountable.
Tuesday's vote on your bill is straightforward. A vote for
S. 2146 shows that Senators want to protect law-abiding
citizens. A vote against S. 2146 means they want to protect
criminal aliens--individuals who not only violate our
immigration laws but our criminal laws as well. I trust that
the Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act will
enjoy broad bipartisan support.
Sincerely,
Dan Stein,
President.
____

[From the Federation for American Immigration Reform Press Release,
Oct. 15, 2015]

FAIR Urges Senate To Pass the Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect
Americans Act (S. 2146)

Washington, D.C.--The Federation for American Immigration
Reform (FAIR) is urging the U.S. Senate to act swiftly to
pass S. 2146, the Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect
Americans Act. The bill would cutoff certain federal grants
to jurisdictions that defy federal immigration laws and
refuse to honor requests to detain illegal aliens who are
sought by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). There
are currently some 300 jurisdictions that harbor illegal
aliens.
``Policies that protect people who are breaking U.S.
immigration laws, including criminal aliens who have been
arrested for other offenses, jeopardize the lives and safety
of Americans. They also violate federal law. It is essential
that Congress act immediately to end these policies,''
declared Dan Stein, president of FAIR.
The House of Representatives already passed legislation in
July to cut off federal funds to sanctuary jurisdictions.
While the Senate has delayed action, Americans continue to be
victimized by state and local policies that result in
deportable criminals being returned to our streets.
S. 2146 would take concrete steps to rein in local
jurisdictions that impede immigration enforcement. The bill:
--Creates a uniform national definition of what constitutes
a ``sanctuary jurisdiction.''
--Denies SCAAP, COPS and HUD grants to sanctuary
jurisdictions and redirects those funds to compliant
jurisdictions.
--Increases penalties against illegal aliens who reenter
the country after deportation.
--Protects individuals who are victims of crimes, or who
provide information to police. Such individuals cannot be
asked about immigration status or have their immigration
status investigated.
``The Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act is
commonsense legislation designed to deter local government
officials that actively shield illegal aliens from being
removed from the United States,'' Stein said. ``Jurisdictions
that thwart even the minimal immigration law enforcement
being carried out by the Obama administration should not
expect to be the beneficiaries of federal law enforcement
grants.
``FAIR urges the Senate to act responsibly to protect the
safety of the American public by approving S. 2146 and to
work with the House to send a final bill to the president's
desk. If President Obama decides to veto the bill it is up to
him to explain to the American people why he is refusing to
act against reckless policies that have resulted in needless
deaths of innocent citizens,'' concluded Stein.

ABOUT FAIR

Founded in 1979, FAIR is the country's largest immigration
reform group. With more than 250,000 members nationwide, FAIR
fights for immigration policies that serve national
interests, not special interests. FAIR believes that
immigration reform must enhance national security, improve
the economy, protect jobs, preserve our environment, and
establish a rule of law that is recognized and enforced.
____

[October 16, 2015]

Analysis of Senate Anti-Sanctuary Bill

Bill seeks to bring safety to communities and encourage enforcement of
federal law

Washington, DC.--The Center for Immigration Studies has
published an analysis of Senate Bill 2146, the ``Stop
Sanctuary Policies and Protect American Act'' introduced by
Senator David Vitter. This sanctuary legislation is designed
to block state or local governments from enacting or
continuing sanctuary laws or policies that protect aliens
from the reach of federal immigration authorities, most
especially with regard to aliens arrested and convicted for
criminal offenses.
Recent data reveals an estimated 1,000 criminal aliens a
month are being released due to sanctuary policies, making
congressional action imperative. The bill seeks to
incentivize state and local governments to cooperate with
federal authorities by continuing existing grants to those
which exchange information and comply with detainers; cutting
federal funding to sanctuary governments which refuse to
cooperate, that is then distributed to jurisdictions that do
cooperate; and by providing immunity to officers when
engaging in cooperative efforts, including complying with
detainers or providing information.
View the entire report at: http://cis.org/Analysis-of-
S2146-the-Stop-Sanctuary-Policies-and-Protect-Americans-Act
``The Obama administration refuses to deal with the
sanctuary problem, which has led to crimes such as the murder
of Kate Steinle by a five-times-deported illegal-alien
felon,'' said Dan Cadman, a Center fellow and author of the
report. ``This bill addresses the sanctuary policies which
result in thousands of criminal aliens being released into
our communities to reoffend. Unfortunately, it is not as
comprehensive as the Davis-Oliver Act, which would deal with
the sanctuary policies and the administration's deliberate
suppression of enforcement.''
____

October 16, 2015.
Re Support of ``Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans
Act''

Hon. David Vitter,
Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Hon. Chuck Grassley,
Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Hon. Ron Johnson,
Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Hon. Ted Cruz,
Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Hon. Pat Toomey,
Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Senators: My name is Brian McCann and I testified at
the Senate Judiciary Committee on behalf of the McCann family
and all Americans on July 21, 2015. You will recall the
tragic death of my brother Dennis was outlined in my remarks
and official witness document. I have read the measure you
are sponsoring and I offer my complete support. I have tried
to amend the cruel and unsafe ordinance passed in Cook County
without success due to the peculiar nature of Illinois and
Cook County politics. I remain convinced that your approach
to limit grants to sanctuary jurisdictions to include SCAAP,
CDBG and COPS will be an effective lever to improve safety to
these over 300 sanctuary jurisdictions. Moreover, your
language relative to Kate's law also has our support.
I will listen to the debates next Tuesday and will begin my
day with a prayer for the thousands of family victims
suffering daily because of these sanctuary jurisdictions. I
remain ready and willing to help in these matters and please
do not hesitate to call or write.
Sincerely,
Brian McCann.
____

Donald Rosenberg,

Westlake Village, CA, October 15, 2015.
Subject: Support of ``Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect
Americans Act''

[[Page S7297]]

aliens who are actually living and being protected by
sanctuary cities.
There are over 135,000 convicted illegal alien criminals
currently roaming our streets. That number is growing by
1,000 every week as so many of our cities are refusing to
honor detainers resulting in convicted illegal alien felons
first to be released into the general population and then
being protected by sanctuary cities. How many more Americans
have to die before our ``leaders'' put the safety of our
citizens above votes and cheap labor?
Nothing I can do will bring my son back to life. But I ask
you to do all that is possible to make sure no other American
family has to suffer the real separation of families and the
never ending nightmare of losing a loved one, I wonder every
day why our government has betrayed us and cares more about
illegal aliens than law abiding American citizens.
Sincerely,
Don Rosenberg,
Victim.
____

October 16, 2015.
Subject: Support of ``Stop Sanctuary Cities and Protect
Americans Act''

Hon. David Vitter,
Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Hon. Chuck Grassley,
Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,
Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Hon. Ron Johnson,
Hart Office Building, Washington, DC.
Hon. Ted Cruz,
Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Hon. Pat Toomey,
Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Senators: On Behalf of the Ronnebeck Family, in memory
of our beloved family member Grant Ronnebeck, I thank you for
introducing and advancing the Stop Sanctuary Cities and
Protect Americans Act. We support this legislation that will
address the reentry of illegal aliens, restrict federal
funding of cities that operate as ``Sanctuary Cities'', and
that also supports and protects our law enforcement officers.
You might remember my testimony before the Judicial
Committee in July 2015, relating how my nephew Grant was
killed. He was working at his job when an illegal alien shot
him in the face, killing him, seemingly doing nothing more
than counting his change too slowly. You also heard the
compelling stories of Susan Oliver, Jim Steinle, Laura
Wilkerson, and Dennis McCann. We have all lost family members
due to illegal aliens.
Unfortunately, since that hearing, several more Americans
have been murdered at the hands of illegal aliens drawn to
sanctuary cities. Those include Margaret Kostelnik of Lake
County Ohio, and Marilyn Pharias of Santa Maria, California.
In fact, the Government Accountability Office data shows that
illegal aliens are committing murders of Americans at the
rate of over 5000 per year. Sanctuary cities can only create
an incentive for illegal aliens to enter our Country, and
stay with impunity from deportation. The Stop Sanctuary
Cities and Protect Americans Act will help save American
Lives, and send a message to all Americans that we are your
priority.
I ask each of you to do everything in your power to pass
this important legislation, for Grant, Kate, Josh, Brian,
Margaret, Maria, and the thousands of others who have lost
their lives due to this issue.
Sincerely,
Michael Ronnebeck.
____

Senate Judiciary Committee,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Committee Members: The legislation addressing
sanctuary cities and Kate's law are of paramount interest to
me because I am a widow of a law enforcement officer killed
by an illegal immigrant previously deported several times for
other felonious acts. This issue has directly affected my
life and the lives of my children.
I am primarily concerned about violent illegal immigrants
being allowed to return to our country with little
consequence. Every single day, law officers are forced to
release criminal aliens who pose a threat to community
safety--in violation of current laws that require
deportation. Additionally ICE released back onto the streets
76,000 convicted criminal aliens in the last few years.
Currently there are over 150,000 criminal aliens at large in
the United States who have criminal convictions and were
formally and lawfully ordered to be deported. The
Administration's tolerance of sanctuary cities has also
resulted in more arrested aliens being released by local law
agencies. And, more than 120 of the criminal aliens who've
been ordered deported in the last few years were released by
ICE have now been charged with additional homicide offenses.
The man that killed my husband, Deputy Danny Oliver, was
deported several times for various felonies. However, due to
the lack of coordination between law enforcement agencies,
his killer was allowed back into this country.
I have read reports of various positions on these matters,
and I realize that not all fully support the changes.
Therefore, I am asking for only one thing. I do not want your
sympathy, I want change so others will not have to endure the
grief we have in our lives every day.
Thank you for your consideration of my viewpoint on this
matter. I believe it is an important issue, and would like to
see the legislation passed to ensure felons are not allowed
to continue to commit serious felonies such as homicide.
Sincerely,
Susan T. Oliver,
Widow of Deputy Danny P. Oliver.
____

October 18, 2015.
Re Support of ``Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans
Act''

Hon. David Vitter,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Chuck Grassley,
Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Ron Johnson,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Ted Cruz,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Pat Toomey,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senators: On behalf on Joshua Wilkerson, I want to
send my support of ``Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect
Americans Act.
On November 16th, 2010, Joshua was brutally murdered and
then his body was set on Fire. Per the Medical Examiner it
was torture. He was murdered by an Illegal Alien, Hermilo
Moralez, brought to this country by his Illegal Alien
Parents, when he was 10 years old. He came to America from
Belize. Our Family has been crushed, overwhelmed, lost, and
irretrievably broken. As a mother I assure you there is
nothing like the pain of what I have been through.
This is just ``my'' story. There are so many families in
every state in America that have suffered loss of life just
as we have. Sanctuary City Policies invite the criminal
element of Illegals to that City.
I want to say Thank you for bringing this key legislation,
that will be beneficial to all American Families.
Sincerely,
Laura Wilkerson.

Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, in closing, I refuse to simply stand by
and reward jurisdictions around the country with Federal funding, with
taxpayer funds, when they are in clear violation of the law and are
actively making our communities more dangerous rather than safer. I
have offered similar versions of this legislation many times in the
past. We cannot wait any longer to tackle this problem head-on.
While President Obama continues to let the world know he will not be
enforcing the current immigration laws or taking action against these
jurisdictions, we here in Congress have an absolute duty to act
otherwise. I believe this legislation will absolutely benefit all
Americans by keeping us safe here at home. I strongly urge all of our
colleagues to support it in votes tomorrow on the Senate floor.
Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Lankford). The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, tomorrow we are going to be voting on a
very important bill. We will have the opportunity to vote to proceed to
a bill that deals with sanctuary cities and immigration policies that
are a serious threat to the public safety. We will move to take up the
Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act--a bill that should
put an end to sanctuary jurisdictions, give law enforcement important
tools they need to detain criminals, and increase penalties for
dangerous and repeat offenders of our immigration laws.
Some of these sanctuary policies are created when a local government
unit, such as a city or county executive body, passes an ordinance
prohibiting their officers from communicating with Federal immigration
and law enforcement officials. Now, there is another way: Some
sanctuary policies come about simply because local law enforcement
initiates its own policies of providing safe harbor for undocumented
immigrants. And then another way: Some sanctuary policies develop
because law enforcement officers are afraid they will be sued if they
enforce immigration laws and detain an individual for their unlawful
immigration status.
In summation, these policies and practices have allowed thousands of
dangerous criminals to be released back into the community, and the
effects have been disastrous. I am going to speak about those effects.
America saw these policies play out in July when Kate Steinle was
innocently killed while walking along a San Francisco pier with her
father. The murderer, who was illegally in the country and actually
deported five times prior

[[Page S7298]]

to that day, was released into the community by a sanctuary
jurisdiction that did not honor the detainer issued by Immigration and
Customs Enforcement. The suspect in Kate's death admitted he was in San
Francisco because of its sanctuary policies. That sums up the problem
our bill addresses.
Here is Kate--no longer with us--as one example. I have several other
examples because people tried to tell us you should not change policy
based upon one murder. Maybe so, maybe not, but 5 years of statistics
shows about 121 people killed by people that have been deported for
criminal activities in this country and then come back in. I want to
tell you what our bill does about that, but I want to first tell you
about some examples.
In July, our Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing called
``Oversight of the Administration's Misdirected Immigration Enforcement
Policies: Examining the Impact on Public Safety and Honoring the
Victims.'' That is the committee's hearing title. This hearing was an
opportunity to hear the voices of Americans who have been impacted by
these very indefensible policies while also conducting oversight of the
administration's policies and tolerance toward sanctuary jurisdictions.
Jim Steinle, Kate's father, expressed his family's desire to see
legislation enacted to take undocumented felons off our streets. The
committee was very moved by his presence and testimony--obviously
something that wasn't very easy for him. He talked about how Kate ``had
a special soul, a kind and giving heart, the most contagious laugh, and
a smile that would light up a room.'' He told us how she died in his
arms that day, despite her plea in her dying words of ``Help me, Dad.''
The suspect in Kate Steinle's murder had seven prior felony convictions
and had been deported five times. Yet he was shielded--protected, in
other words--by San Francisco's sanctuary policy.
The Kate Steinle story is not a singular case. Too many Americans
have lost their lives, and too many families have had to feel the real
and devastating impact caused by sanctuary cities and lax enforcement
policies.
Our committee heard powerful testimony from families other than Kate
Steinle's father. We heard from Mrs. Susan Oliver. She is the widow of
Deputy Danny Oliver. This is the family. He was a police officer in
Sacramento, CA. Danny was killed while on duty by an illegal immigrant
who was previously arrested on two separate occasions for drug-related
charges and twice deported. Mrs. Oliver spoke of the daily loss she
experiences without her husband in everything from raising her children
to the milestones he will miss, including their daughter's upcoming
wedding.
We also heard from Michael Ronnebeck, the uncle of Grant Ronnebeck.
You are seeing Grant's picture here. Grant was a 21-year-old
convenience store clerk who was gunned down earlier this year by an
undocumented immigrant. The Obama administration released Grant's
alleged murderer, who was in removal proceedings. Grant was born in my
State of Iowa but resided in Arizona. He had two brothers and a sister.
Mr. Ronnebeck expressed his family's desire to see Grant's legacy be a
force for change, imploring us as lawmakers to ``rise above political
differences, to set aside personal interests, and to use your resources
to make sensible immigration reform a reality in the coming months,
with the safety and security of American citizens first and foremost in
mind.'' Think of that tomorrow and think of the Ronnebeck family losing
their son. They are asking us to keep the safety and security of
American citizens first and foremost in our minds.
We also heard from Brian McCann. Mr. McCann's brother, Dennis McCann,
was killed in 2011 by a drunk driver who was in the country illegally
and driving without a license. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
had placed a detainer on the drunk driver, but he was released under
Cook County, IL, sanctuary city policies. Mr. McCann expressed his
anger at the sanctuary city policies of Cook County, which allowed his
brother's killer to be free, and at a system that failed to communicate
with him and his family when the suspect was released by the locals.
We also heard from Laura Wilkerson of Pearland, TX, the mother of
Josh Wilkerson. Josh was 18 years old when he was murdered by his high
school classmate, an undocumented immigrant, after Josh offered him a
ride home from school. Josh's murderer was sentenced to life in prison
and will be eligible for parole in 30 years. Mrs. Wilkerson spoke of
the gentle soul of her son, the brutal torture that he endured, and
actually watching an unapologetic 19-year-old brag about his killing
skills during trial and talking about how things were done in his
country.
These stories are heartbreaking, but nothing has changed. I want to
talk about what has happened since Kate's murder. We have seen more
fall victim to sanctuary jurisdiction policies.
Shortly after Kate's death, Marilyn Pharis was brutally raped,
tortured, and murdered in her home in Santa Maria, CA, by an
undocumented immigrant who was released from custody because the county
sheriff does not honor Federal enforcement detainers.
A 2-year-old girl was brutally beaten by an undocumented immigrant in
San Luis Obispo County, CA. He was released from local custody despite
a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer and an extensive
criminal history, and he is still at large.
Margaret Kostelnik was killed by an undocumented immigrant who
allegedly attempted to rape a 14-year-old girl and shoot a woman in a
nearby park. He was released because Immigration and Customs
Enforcement refused to issue a detainer and take custody of that
suspect.
These are a very few of the stories that could be told on this Senate
floor. There are many more families who are hurting today because of
lax immigration policies and the lack of willingness by President
Obama's administration to do something about sanctuary cities.
But don't take it from just me. Even the Secretary of Homeland
Security acknowledges that sanctuary cities are ``counterproductive to
public safety.'' He said these policies were ``unacceptable.'' Yet this
administration has not taken demonstrable action to address the
unwillingness of sanctuary jurisdictions to work with Federal
immigration authorities. More than 12,000 Federal detainer requests
were ignored by State and local jurisdictions in 2014.
Moreover, in June of this year, the administration rolled out a new
program that reduces the enforcement priorities and announced it would
not seek the custody of many criminals who are in the country
illegally. This is called the Priority Enforcement Program, PEP for
short. That program actually gives sanctuary jurisdictions permission
to continue ignoring Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers. PEP
even discourages compliant jurisdictions from further cooperation with
Immigration and Customs Enforcement because it now only issues
detainers for individuals who are already convicted of certain crimes
deemed priorities by the Department of Homeland Security.
Many local jurisdictions want to work with the Federal Government and
protect their communities but are frustrated when the administration
refuses to work with them. Think of Arizona trying to protect its own
citizens from the crimes committed by undocumented immigrants in that
State. The State legislature passes laws. The administration goes to
court and gets those laws declared contrary to the Constitution or our
only immigration laws. Why? Because under the Constitution, one of the
18 powers of Congress happens to be the enforcement or the writing of
the immigration laws so they are uniform. So when this administration
will not enforce immigration laws in Arizona, and Arizona decides under
the Tenth Amendment, under the police powers of the State, to do it for
the Federal Government, then it is wrong for that State to do it. But
this administration will not take action against the sanctuary cities
that are violating the same immigration laws.
I want to continue with some examples where the administration
refuses to work with local officials. Sheriff Cummings in Cape Cod, MA,
recently explained his frustration with Immigration and Customs
Enforcement when an immigrant who had overstayed his visa was arrested
for battery

[[Page S7299]]

with a dangerous weapon and child pornography. Sheriff Cummings said
that when he learned that this individual who had a long criminal
history was in the country illegally, he asked Immigration and Customs
Enforcement for a Federal immigration detainer ``so that if someone
came up with a bail we could then turn him over to ICE and we wouldn't
release him back into the community.'' So then what happened? ICE--
Immigration and Customs Enforcement--never issued the detainer.

Sheriff Cummings noted that before PEP, immigration authorities would
issue a detainer pretty quickly but not anymore. He commented:

It just shows how they've relaxed their policy so there are
more criminal illegal aliens in our communities right now.
Those are the ones I'm concerned with. I'm concerned with the
individuals that have committed crimes. They are here
illegally to begin with and they've committed crimes while
they're here. To me it makes no sense to allow these people
to stay in our communities.

I very much agree. It makes no sense that people who do not belong
here and commit crimes are allowed to return to our communities and
cause further harm.
Getting back to the bill we will be voting on tomorrow, the Stop
Sanctuary Policies and Protect America Act addresses the problem of
sanctuary jurisdictions in a very commonsense and balanced way. There
seems to be consensus that sanctuary jurisdictions should be held
accountable, and we do that with the power of the purse. And now I am
beginning to explain our bill.
This bill limits the availability of certain Federal grants to cities
and States that have sanctuary policies. We limit funding through the
State Criminal Alien Assistance Program. This is a grant program run by
the Department of Justice that is designed to reimburse part of the
cost incurred by local jurisdictions that detain undocumented criminal
aliens. Sanctuary cities receive these funds despite their refusal to
detain suspects who are wanted by immigration authorities.
In this year alone, California received a total of $44 million in
these State Criminal Alien Assistance Program funds even though the
State has a sanctuary law. New York City, a sanctuary city, received
$11.6 million in taxpayer funding. To fund sanctuary cities with State
Criminal Alien Assistance Program money essentially subsidizes these
jurisdictions for their lack of cooperation.
As Former Assistant Secretary Morton stated in a letter to Cook
County, a well-known sanctuary city, ``It is fundamentally inconsistent
for Cook County to request federal reimbursement for the cost of
detaining aliens who commit or are charged with crimes while at the
same time thwarting ICE's efforts to remove those very same aliens from
the United States.''
The bill that will be before us tomorrow morning when we vote
responds to this hypocrisy by making sanctuary jurisdictions ineligible
for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program. Another grant program
limited to sanctuary jurisdictions is the community-oriented policing
services or, as it is known around this town and locally, the COPS
Program. These grant dollars help fund community-oriented policing
programs for local law enforcement agencies. Our bill makes sanctuary
jurisdictions ineligible for these taxpayer dollars if they have a
policy or practice in place despite the lack of any statute, ordinance,
or policy directive from their unit of local government. Finally, the
bill limits taxpayer dollars through the community development block
grant for sanctuary jurisdictions when a county, city, or State has in
effect a statute that clearly defies information sharing as required by
Federal law or has a statute that prohibits any government official
from complying with a detainer request issued by the Department of
Homeland Security. Those are the funding parts of our bill.
In acknowledgement of the bill's fairness in targeting certain
grants, the National Sheriffs' Association writes:

The grant penalties you would impose also acknowledge that
our public safety entities should not be punished for the
actions of a state or local subdivision over which they may
not have control. I appreciate the careful consideration you
clearly gave that issue.

The second part of the bill deals with lawsuits that local law
enforcement people might be faced with, so the second thing our bill
does is provide protection for law enforcement officers who do want to
cooperate and comply with detainer requests from the Federal
Government. It would address the liability issue created by recent
court decisions by providing liability protection to local law
enforcement who honor Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers.
The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association explains in a letter
of support for the bill:

Unfortunately, at least four courts have ruled that local
law enforcement officers may be sued for violating the Fourth
Amendment if they comply with an immigration detainer, even
if the detainer was lawfully issued and the detention would
have been legal if carried out by DHS. This means that our
local counterparts are exposed to potential civil liability
and it disables their ability to detain dangerous criminals
scheduled for release. The Stop Sanctuary Policies and
Protect Americans Act solves this problem by explicitly
stating that local law enforcement officers have legal
authority to comply with immigration detainers.

While preventing restrictive liability to law enforcement, the bill
also ensures the protection of civil liberties and the rights of
individuals. The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association noted
that ``the bill protects civil liberties, ensuring that someone who has
had their constitutional rights violated may sue.''
Finally, the bill addresses criminals attempting to reenter the
United States and habitual offenders of our immigration laws. The bill
creates a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years for any alien who is an
aggravated felon or has been twice convicted of illegal reentry. Thanks
to many people, including TV's Bill O'Reilly, for keeping this issue
constantly before the people of this country. This part of the bill--
named by Bill O'Reilly and commonly referred to as Kate's law--has
become so important to many Americans. You can only imagine how
important it is to the families of those who were killed by these
murderers, the people whose pictures I had up here. This bill is very
important to those families. Kate's Law is necessary in order to take
those who are dangerous to our communities and have no respect for our
law off our streets.
This bill has broad support from law enforcement groups. It also has
the support of groups who want enforcement of our immigration laws. It
has the support of the Remembrance Project, a group devoted to honoring
and remembering Americans who have been killed by undocumented
immigrants.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that letters of support be
printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:

The Remembrance Project,

Houston, TX, October 14, 2015.
Subject: Support of ``Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect
Americans Act''

Hon. David Vitter,
Hart Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Chuck Grassley,
Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,
Hart Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Ron Johnson,
Hart Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Ted Cruz,
Russell Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Pat Toomey,
Russell Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senators: On behalf of Americans killed by illegal
aliens, and their surviving families, I thank you for
introducing and advancing the Stop Sanctuary Policies and
Protect Americans Act. We support this legislation that will
address the reentry of illegal aliens, restrict federal
funding of cities that operate as ``sanctuary cities'', and
that also supports and protects our law enforcement officers.
It is now known that approximately 1,000 criminal illegal
aliens are released back into our communities from our
prisons each month, of which over 60% have ``significant
prior criminal histories . . .'', most of which include
serious felonies! Add this to the rampant crime perpetrated
by other illegal aliens in our country, and we have a matter
of national urgency.
Violent illegal alien crimes resulting in the deaths of
American citizens, are unlike other killings. In every case,
Americans were killed by those persons who should never have
been in our country. This legislation will send a powerful
message that the safety of Americans is the priority. Most
importantly, this legislation will save American lives!
I ask that each of you do all humanly possible to end these
deliberate and unsafe community law enforcement practices
wherein

[[Page S7300]]

the killings of Americans is not only enabled but is also
well-known and documented.
Sincerely,
Maria Espinoza,
Co-founder and National Director.
____

AmericaFirstLatinos,

Houston, TX, October 16, 2015.
Subject: Support of ``Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect
Americans Act''

Hon. David Vitter,
Hart Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Chuck Grassley,
Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,
Hart Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Ron Johnson,
Hart Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Ted Cruz,
Russell Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Pat Toomey,
Russell Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senators: On behalf of Latino voices in America, I
write this letter in support of legislation that will address
the reentry of illegal aliens, restrict federal finds to
cities that refuse to enforce laws that creates ``sanctuary
city policies'', and that also supports and protects law
enforcement officers.
America First Latinos are proud to be Americans and proud
to live in this great country. We are activating nationwide
to remind public servants that the safety and well-being of
Americans must be the priority in America. Enforcing laws is
not racist, in fact, it is offensive for anyone to think that
Latinos approve of illegal immigration. Illegal immigration
is wrong. Sanctuary city policies condone lawless behaviors
and encourages more of the same behaviors, which reaches
deeper into our communities.
Each day Americans are being killed and harmed by
individuals who should not be in our country. It is up to you
to stop this epidemic of killings and crimes against the
citizenry. I ask that each of you do all humanly possible to
end these dangerous sanctuary practices. Americans must be
the priority in America!
Sincerely,
Pedro Rivera,
Texas State Coordinator.
____

National Sheriffs' Association,

Alexandria, VA, October 6, 2015.
Hon. David Vitter,
U.S. Senate, Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Hon. Chuck Grassley,
U.S. Senate, Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Hon. Ron Johnson,
U.S. Senate, Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Hon. Patrick Toomey,
U.S. Senate, Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Hon. Ted Cruz,
U.S. Senate, Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Vitter, Senator Toomey, Senator Grassley,
Senator Cruz, and Senator Johnson: On behalf of the National
Sheriffs' Association and the more than 3,000 sheriffs
nationwide, I write today in support of legislation you
intend to introduce, the ``Stop Sanctuary Policies and
Protect American Act.'' This bill takes an important step in
clarifying the definition of sanctuary jurisdictions while
also offering additional protections for state and local
officers.
As you all know, state and local law enforcement agencies
are critical partners in immigration and border security
efforts all across this country. For too long, however, those
officers had little to no liability protections when lawfully
enforcing Federal immigration detainers on behalf of the
Department of Homeland Security. Your bill takes the
important step of clarifying those protections so that
deputies acting within the bounds of the law will not be held
personally liability in future court actions. The grant
penalties you would impose also acknowledge that our public
safety entities should not be punished for the actions of a
state or local subdivision over which they may not have
control. I appreciate the careful consideration you clearly
gave that issue.
On behalf of the National Sheriffs' Association, I applaud
your efforts on this important issue and look forward to
working with you on passage. If the National Sheriffs'
Association can be of assistance this or any other issue,
please don't hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Jonathan F. Thompson.
____

Federal Law Enforcement

Officers Association,

Washington, DC, October 6, 2015.
Hon. David Vitter,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Hon. Chuck Grassley,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Hon. Ron Johnson,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Hon. Pat Toomey,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Hon. Ted Cruz,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Senators Vitter, Toomey, Grassley, Cruz, and Johnson:
On behalf of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association
(FLEOA), I thank you for introducing the Stop Sanctuary
Policies and Protect Americans Act, which will empower
federal and local law enforcement officers' cooperative
efforts to better protect our communities and our citizenry.
Your proposal will ensure we do not dishonor the memory of
Kate Steinle and the immeasurable grief her family is
enduring. It is critically important that all our law
enforcement assets are synchronized in pursuing our shared
responsibility of policing violent illegal aliens.
Federal law enforcement officers rely on their state and
local counterparts to assist in keeping America's borders
secure and keeping criminal illegal immigrants off of the
streets. It's one team, one fight, as we all took the same
sacred oath to protect and defend the Constitution and the
American citizenry. We've been relying upon immigration
detainers--requests from the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) for local law enforcement to hold an illegal immigrant
temporarily, to give federal law enforcement an opportunity
to take the individual into custody.
Unfortunately, at least four courts have ruled that local
law enforcement officers may be sued for violating the Fourth
Amendment if they comply with an immigration detainer, even
if the detainer was lawfully issued and the detention would
have been legal if carried out by DHS. This means that our
local counterparts are exposed to potential civil liability
and it disables their ability to detain dangerous criminals
scheduled for release. The Stop Sanctuary Policies and
Protect Americans Act solves this problem by explicitly
stating that local law enforcement officers have legal
authority to comply with immigration detainers. The bill
protects civil liberties, ensuring that someone who has had
their constitutional rights violated may sue.
The Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act takes
crucial steps to eliminating sanctuary jurisdictions, which
serve to shelter illegal aliens while posing real threats to
the American people. We must reassess our priorities and
remain committed to the unwavering premise of the safety of
the American citizenry is our top priority. The proper
response to Kate's tragic death is not to point fingers at
each other. Ms. Steinle was killed in San Francisco by an
illegal immigrant who had previously been deported from the
United States five times, and had been convicted of seven
felonies. The shooter chose to live in San Francisco because
he knew it was a sanctuary city that would shield him from
federal immigration law. Tragically, his ``sanctuary'' gambit
proved fatal for the Steinle family. Federal officials
requested that San Francisco detain the shooter until
immigration authorities could pick him up, but San Francisco
officials refused to cooperate and released Sanchez three
months before Kate's murder. We owe it to Kate and the
American citizenry to fix this critical community safety
issue now.
We commend you for preserving flexibility for law
enforcement, so that victims of crime and witnesses to crime
who are in the U.S. illegally may come forward and cooperate
with police. FLEOA especially recognizes and appreciates
Senator Toomey's leadership and unwavering support for all
law enforcement officers. Both Senator Toomey and Vitter
understand that in America, the safety of Americans comes
first!
FLEOA strongly supports the Stop Sanctuary Policies and
Protect Americans Act, and we look forward to working with
your offices to have this important legislation enacted into
law.
Respectfully yours,
Jon Adler,
FLEOA National President.
____

International Union of Police

Associations AFL-CIO,

October 8, 2015.
Hon. Patrick Toomey,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Toomey: The International Union of Police
Associations is proud to add our name to the list of
supporters of the bill addressing ``Sanctuary Cities'' titled
Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act. As it now
stands, our officers can be held liable for sharing relevant
information and honoring immigration detainers, even when
they are from federal immigration officials. This legislation
remedies that.
Additionally, the bill provides a financial disincentive
for cities to become or remain ``sanctuary cities'' by
removing State Criminal Alien Assistance Program Funds which
were originally designated to provide financial assistance to
those counties and cities housing unlawful entrants. It also
restricts Community Block Grants. COPS grants are restricted
only if the law enforcement agency is the source of, and has
the power to change sanctuary city policy. It makes sense to
us that a political entity cannot expect finding from the
federal government when that city or county has made a
decision to ignore federal laws involving the very issues for
which these funds were prescribed.
Finally, this legislation will provide a five year
mandatory minimum sentence for those illegal aliens who have
aggravated felony convictions and at least two prior
convictions for unlawful reentry. It is long past time to end
the revolving door of criminal aliens, who, even though
convicted of felony criminal activity and deported,
unlawfully return to prey upon our citizens.
We both thank and applaud you for this thoughtful and
timely piece of legislation

[[Page S7301]]

and we look forward to working with you and your staff to see
it signed into law.
Very Respectfully,
Sam A. Cabral,
International President.
____

National Association of

Police Organizations, Inc.,

Alexandria, Virginia, October 7, 2015.
Senator David Vitter,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Chairman Chuck Grassley,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Senator Ron Johnson,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Senator Pat Toomey,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Senator Ted Cruz,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Senators Vitter, Toomey, Grassley, Cruz, and Johnson:
On behalf of the National Association of Police Organizations
(NAPO), I am writing to you to express our support for the
Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act, which will
enable federal and local law enforcement officers to work
together to protect our communities.
NAPO is a coalition of police unions and associations from
across the United States that serves to advance the interests
of America's law enforcement through legislative and legal
advocacy, political action, and education. Founded in 1978,
NAPO now represents more than 1,000 police units and
associations, 241,000 sworn law enforcement officers, and
more than 100,000 citizens who share a common dedication to
fair and effective crime control and law enforcement.
The system relies on local law enforcement complying with
immigration detainers--requests from the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) for local law enforcement to hold an
illegal immigrant temporarily, to give federal law
enforcement an opportunity to take the individual into
custody.
Unfortunately, several courts have ruled that local law
enforcement officers may be sued for violating the Fourth
Amendment if they comply with an immigration detainer, even
if the detainer was lawfully issued and the detention would
have been legal if carried out by DHS. This means that
dangerous criminals cannot be held and must be released. The
Stop Sanctuary Policies ad Protect Americans Act solves this
problem by explicitly stating that local law enforcement
officers have legal authority to comply with immigration
detainers. The bill also protects civil liberties, ensuring
that someone who has had their constitutional rights violated
may sue.
Furthermore, the Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect
Americans Act takes crucial steps to eliminating sanctuary
jurisdictions, which pose real threats to the American
people, and increases penalties for criminals who re-enter
the United States illegally, providing federal, state and
local law enforcement vital tools to help keep our
communities safe.
NAPO also commends you for preserving flexibility for law
enforcement, so that victims of crime and witnesses to crime
who are in the U.S. illegally may come forward and cooperate
with police.
We look forward to working with your offices to pass this
important legislation. If we can provide any assistance,
please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
William J. Johnson,
Executive Director.

Mr. GRASSLEY. Some on the other side of the aisle are criticizing us
for politicizing these recent attacks by criminal aliens and releases
by sanctuary jurisdictions. We are being accused of attacking
immigrants. However, I just want to note that the Democrats take no
shame in politicizing the recent gun violence and promoting legislation
that would not have stopped some of the shootings, from Newtown, CT, to
Roseburg, OR.
This is not a partisan issue. This bill protects law-abiding people
and improves our public safety. Had it been enacted before July 1,
individuals like Kate Steinle might still be with us.
I would think we should all be able to agree that people who are in
the country illegally and committing crimes should not be released back
into the community. There has to be accountability and a commitment to
uphold the rule of law. For too long we sat by while sanctuary
jurisdictions released dangerous criminals into the community to harm
our citizens. It is finally time that we put an end to it, and tomorrow
we will have that opportunity. It is time we work toward protecting our
communities rather than continue to put them in danger.
I hope all of my colleagues will support this bill and vote to
proceed to it tomorrow.
I yield the floor.

____________________