The House is expected to vote on a bill to crackdown on sanctuary cities.
H.R. 3003 — the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act — would block sanctuary cities from receiving federal grant money if they fail to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement efforts. The bill also gives victims of crimes committed by illegal immigrants the ability to sue sanctuary cities and local law enforcement.
Legal Analyst James Goodnow says this bill is GOP lawmakers trying to deliver on their campaign pledges.
“The GOP lawmakers pushing the bill argue that the steps are necessary to keep citizens safe from crimes committed by illegal immigrants,” said Goodnow. “Those opposed to the bill argue that this type of legislation not only violates fundamental principles of federalism, but it also strips local law enforcement officials of the ability to exercise their judgment about how to best keep their communities safe.”
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump met with victims’ families at the White House, including Steve Ronnebeck. In 2015, Ronnebeck’s son Grant was shot and killed by an illegal criminal immigrant at a QuikTrip station in Mesa. His Dad, Steve, has been fighting to get legislation passed to prevent it from happening again.
“These crimes committed by illegal immigrant criminals are preventable,” said Ronnebeck. “They are all preventable. We want to stop them none of us want any other family to go through the devastation that our families have gone through.”
Goodnow says even if the bill passes both the House and the Senate, the fight will be far from over.
“Expect the litigation floodgates to open,” said Goodnow. “Already, the bill has attracted considerable attention from groups that claim it’s unconstitutional and violates long-standing U.S. Supreme Court precedents.”
