Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Mike Bost today voted with bipartisan majorities in the U.S. House of Representatives for two bills that strengthen public safety by combating dangerous sanctuary policies that permit criminals to go free and by enhancing penalties for deported felons who return to the United States.

“Years of lax immigration enforcement and the spread of dangerous sanctuary policies have made America less safe,” said Bost. “We have plenty of work to do in fixing our nation’s broken immigration system, and we owe it to the families of those who lost loved ones to take immediate action to stop such horrible and preventable crimes. We can't allow states and localities to pick and choose when to follow the law.”

Background:

The No Sanctuary for Criminals Act (H.R. 3003) strengthens federal law to combat dangerous sanctuary policies that shield unlawful and criminal immigrants from federal immigration enforcement. H.R. 3003 clarifies U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer authority—the tool used by federal immigration enforcement officers to pick up criminal aliens from local jails—by establishing statutory probable cause standards to issue detainers for the first time. It also withholds certain federal grants from jurisdictions that violate federal law by prohibiting their officers from communicating with ICE. The bill protects jurisdictions that comply with detainers from being sued, while allowing victims of crime to sue jurisdictions that refuse to comply and subsequently release criminal aliens onto the streets.

Kate’s Law (H.R. 3004) protects public safety by enhancing penalties for deported felons who return to the United States. The bill is named after Kate Steinle, who was murdered in San Francisco by an unlawful immigrant who had previously been deported five times and was convicted of multiple felonies. In another tragic example, Nicodemo Coria-Gonzales—a criminal immigrant previously deported at least five times—is reportedly responsible for nearly a dozen sexual assaults. He allegedly kidnapped a woman and attempted to light her on fire using gasoline, and kidnapped and raped a 68-year old woman.

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