Immigration advocates warn against 'sanctuary city' crackdown

Politico

By Seung Min Kim

July 20, 2015

Immigration advocates warn against 'sanctuary city' crackdown 

A coalition of immigration advocacy and civil rights groups is urging lawmakers not to push forward with bills to crack down on so-called “sanctuary cities” — an issue that’s been catapulted into the 2016 campaign spotlight after an undocumented immigrant allegedly fatally shot a woman in California earlier this month.

The groups are warning Congress against any measures that would “seek to undermine state and local law enforcement’s efforts to build and restore community trust” in the aftermath of the death of Kathryn Steinle, who authorities say was shot and killed by Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, a Mexican immigrant here illegally.

“Good policies are made over time, by examining our shared values and opinions, and by working toward equality and justice for all people,” the organizations, led by the National Immigration Law Center and United We Dream, wrote in a letter to lawmakers provided in advance to POLITICO. “They are not made based on a single, tragic incident or by taking the actions of one individual to justify a policy that criminalizes an entire community.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), will hold a hearing Tuesday that will bring extra congressional scrutiny to the issue, and the committee announced Monday that Steinle’s father, Jim, will testify. His daughter’s death has brought attention to “sanctuary cities” — counties and cities in which local law enforcement officials take steps to provide safe harbor to undocumented immigrants by declining to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

Lopez-Sanchez had been deported multiple times and had a lengthy criminal record. In response to the death, several Republicans have released bills going after “sanctuary cities,” including a measure from Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) that would ban federal funds for cities that don’t cooperate with immigration officials.

House Republicans also announced Monday that they’ll put an immigration bill targeting sanctuary cities on the floor later this week. The legislation from Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) threatens to withhold various Justice Department grants to cities and states if they withhold information from federal immigration authorities.

“Sadly, in response to the tragic death of Kathryn Steinle, some politicians, including Senator David Vitter, are proposing legislation that scapegoats all immigrants based on the acts of one,” the advocacy groups wrote in the letter, sent Monday. “These reactionary policy proposals are focused on heavy-handed, enforcement-only approaches despite the fact that studies show that deportation-only policies do not reduce crime rates.”

The House Judiciary Committee held its own hearing last week with Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, who came under heavy criticism from congressional Republicans about the killing. Still, Johnson said multiple times that he does not believe state and local law enforcement officials should be forced into cooperating with federal immigration authorities. He argued that doing so would raise constitutional concerns and the best approach would be a cooperative method, not forcing cities, states and counties to comply with federal immigration requests.

For more information, go to:  www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com