[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 154 (Wednesday, October 21, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S7409]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           STOP SANCTUARY POLICIES AND PROTECT AMERICANS ACT

  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, from January through August of 2014, over 
8,100 aliens that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had 
identified for deportation were released back into our communities by 
sanctuary jurisdictions. Over 5,000 of those released had a criminal 
history. In that same time period, 1,900 of those 8,100 went on to be 
charged with another 7,500 crimes.
  These are crimes that would not have been committed had local 
authorities cooperated with Federal authorities in enforcing our laws.
  This summer, everyone heard the case of Kate Steinle who was shot and 
killed in San Francisco by an illegal immigrant who had seven felony 
convictions and had been deported five times. Rather than turn him over 
to ICE, San Francisco released him, allowing him to commit more crimes. 
This guy even admitted that he was in San Francisco because their 
liberal laws would protect him.
  While this one case received the media attention it deserved, many 
other preventable crimes don't.
  For example, the city of Los Angeles released one immigrant who had 
been arrested for the continuous sexual abuse of a child. ICE wanted 
custody of this deviant. ICE tried to get custody of him. However, 
rather than hand him over to Federal law enforcement and get this guy 
out of our country and away from our children, Los Angeles ignored 
ICE's detainer and released him. He was later arrested for sodomy of a 
victim under 10 years old. Another child became a victim of this 
predator because liberal policies would rather release him into our 
communities then get him out of our country.
  This year, sanctuary cities have already released more than 9,000 
criminal aliens from jail and these criminals are committing more 
crimes.
  In California, an immigrant was arrested for battery last year, but 
instead of turning him over to ICE, the local sheriff released him. 
This July, he raped and beat a 64-year-old woman so severely that she 
died 8 days later--yet another preventable death due to the intentional 
failure of a jurisdiction to comply with federal law.
  How many more do we have to have before people realize what these 
policies are doing to our communities? Over 300 States, cities, and 
counties have sanctuary laws, ordinances, or policies that protect 
criminals and hurt the innocent. These jurisdictions continue to 
receive money from the Federal Government even though they continue to 
ignore Federal laws and rebuff Federal agencies working to enforce the 
laws.
  Enough is enough.
  I believe that, if a jurisdiction chooses not to cooperate with 
federal law enforcement, they should not be the beneficiary of federal 
grants. This is why I cosponsored S. 2146, the Stop Sanctuary Policies 
and Protect Americans Act, which my colleagues on the other side of the 
aisle filibustered. It is why I have cosponsored similar legislation 
introduced by Senator Sessions.
  Unfortunately, others would rather let politics come before doing 
what they know is right and failed to protect our communities from 
further victimization. When the proper enforcement of current law could 
save lives and protect the innocent, how could you not vote to do so?

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