Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Penn.) has introduced legislation that would limit funds for jurisdictions with sanctuary city polices who refuse to work with immigration officials. The legislation was fast-tracked to the Senate’s calendar, which means it will skip the usual committee process. This makes is likely that the Senate will vote on the bill, though a date has not been set yet.
Sanctuary jurisdictions prohibit local law enforcement from honoring ICE detainers on illegal aliens who have committed crimes, instead the illegal alien is released back into the community. Sen. Toomey’s bill would limit certain federal funding to any jurisdictions with sanctuary policies in place.
When introducing the bill Sen. Toomey referenced the murder of Kate Steinle by an illegal criminal alien that brought national attention to the safety problems sanctuary policies can have on a community.
"The bill stands for the simple proposition that the safety of the American people matters," Toomey said Monday. "That the life of Kate Steinle matters. That protecting our own homeland from violent criminals, including terrorists, that matters."
A study by the Center for Immigration Studies shows that there are around 340 sanctuary jurisdictions across the U.S., which results in around 1,000 illegal criminal aliens being released every month.
Read more on this story at The Hill.
