Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act-- Motion to Proceed-- Continued

Floor Speech

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Mr. President, a few moments ago the Senate refused to move forward on an important piece of legislation, sometimes called the sanctuary cities bill. I want to explain for whoever may be listening and particularly for my colleagues what a terrible mistake our Democratic colleagues made--with the exception of two--by voting to block consideration of this piece of legislation.

What this bill would do is withhold Federal funds from jurisdictions that basically violate current law--that violate the information-sharing requirement in immigration law, Section 642 of the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. Secondly, it would withhold Federal funds from those jurisdictions that refuse to honor the lawful, legal process known as the detainer, or request to notify Federal authorities if local law enforcement decides to release an illegal immigrant who happens to have been arrested for some other unrelated reason.

This is a truly important issue. As we have seen from the news, Kate Steinle out in California was killed by somebody who had repeatedly violated our laws not only by entering the country illegally but also by committing offenses against the persons and property of American citizens. Essentially what happens is when local jurisdictions give up and refuse to honor the detainers or give notice to Federal authorities before they release individuals, then people are going to get hurt. The Kate Steinles of the world will get killed.

In my State of Texas, we have had Houston police officers and other law enforcement personnel killed by illegal immigrants who have routinely broken our laws and have terrible criminal records. But if we can't get the cooperation of local law enforcement authorities to work with the Federal authorities, then unfortunately public safety will be harmed.

I am going to pull back a little bit and ask my colleagues to look at this perhaps from 30,000 feet. There is a reason at the time our Constitution was written that article VI, clause 2 simply said the Federal law is the supreme law of the land. In other words, Federal laws trump State laws and local laws.

If we think about it, as James Madison said, if we didn't have Federal law as the supreme law of the land, essentially the authority of the whole country--the elected officials, the President, the Congress, those serving in the Federal Government--the laws of the country would be made subordinate to the parts of the country--the cities, the counties, the States--that essentially defy Federal law, and our system would be in chaos.

Indeed, what our colleagues across the aisle appear to have ratified here is not one Nation under the law, but a confederation of different jurisdictions that can pick and choose what laws they want to comply with. That is a recipe for chaos.

One of the reasons I think the American people are so angry with what they see happening in Washington these days--indeed, I think they have moved beyond anger to fear. They are fearful for the future of our country. When we see individual cities and States effectively nullify Federal law by refusing to cooperate or saying: We don't care what the Federal Government says; we are going to impose our own will, this is a recipe for chaos and for the very fabric of our country to unravel.

At different points in our Nation's history we have had States which said: We aren't going to respect Federal law; we are going to nullify it, in effect. That is what these cities that defy the Federal authorities and the supremacy of Federal law are doing.

They are saying we don't have to comply with the law, and so the American people--I think out of apprehension over what they see happening here when States, cities, and other jurisdictions decide to pick and choose which laws will apply--realize this is a recipe for disunity and, in this case, for danger.

The people whom we are fighting for are families and communities that want to live in peace and safety in their local communities. That is what this legislation is about. This legislation, of course, is called Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act. All it does, simply stated, is to restore law and order across the country and to hold certain cities that want to defy Federal law accountable. It would limit Federal funding for State and local governments that refuse to cooperate. Basically, the Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act encourages compliance with Federal law, as I said a moment ago, and uses the power of the purse to withhold Federal funds from those jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with the Federal law. The goal, as I said, is to protect our communities from those who would pose a danger to our society. It does not target legal immigrants who seek to live a law-abiding and productive life here.

Frankly, I do not understand the Democrats'--with the exception of two who voted to get on this legislation and offer amendments and constructive suggestions--refusal to move this legislation forward, because it harms the public safety and it causes our country to become a confederation of different jurisdictions that can pick and choose which laws they want to enforce.

I mentioned one terrible incident over the summer, the murder of Kate Steinle in San Francisco by an illegal immigrant with a known and lengthy criminal record. This is just one example. This sad story poignantly demonstrates the consequences of the administration's abject failure when it comes to enforcing our immigration laws. People get hurt. People get killed. This legislation would address the root cause of this tragedy by targeting criminal aliens and those local entities that refuse to do anything to help the Kate Steinles of the world, and it would specifically serve to counter the policies of those city governments, such as San Francisco, that are known to shield criminal aliens from deportation. They openly defy the 1996 Federal law that requires information sharing. They openly refuse to cooperate with Federal orders and detainers and to notify the Federal Government when people are released from their jail sentence even though they know there is an outstanding deportation order pending.

This bill also extends the mandatory minimum sentence for those who attempt to reenter the country after being removed for breaking our laws. Time and again we are met with the tragic news of some other American citizen who was killed, injured or assaulted by somebody who has reentered the country, after being removed for violating our laws, and keeps coming back and committing other criminal acts.

We need to send a clear signal to those who attempt to enter our country illegally and violate and ignore our laws that they will have to answer for them and certainly will not be allowed to come back.

Some have rightly noted that this bill is not about immigration reform, and I agree. This bill is simply about enforcing our current law and holding those jurisdictions that refuse to comply with current law accountable by withholding Federal funds.

This legislation underscores the concept that, unbelievably, has been lost among municipalities across the country. Despite what the current administration might have us think, upholding the Federal law is not a suggestion. It is a legal requirement for all of us. We can't, in good faith, ask the American people to trust us when it comes to reforming our broken immigration system until they see us willing to stand up and enforce the laws that are currently on the books and hold those jurisdictions, municipalities, States, and other local entities that refuse to comply with Federal law accountable. That is why organizations such as the National Sheriffs' Association and the National Association of Police Organizations have voiced their support for this legislation.

To sum up, the Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act really serves as a confidence-building exercise for Congress. If the American people don't see us actually stepping up and demanding that local jurisdictions enforce current law, how can they expect us to pass complex immigration reform legislation to address our broken immigration system? Unfortunately, in this confidence-building exercise, the Senate, led by our colleagues across the aisle, has failed in that confidence-building exercise. What they have done is to reinforce the belief that there are Members of the Senate who believe that local jurisdictions can openly defy Federal law and there will be no recourse and no accountability.

Frankly, it is hard for me to understand how our Democratic colleagues can, in good conscience, block this legislation, given some of the horrific crimes that have occurred, such as the crime that was committed against Kate Steinle in San Francisco. There are many, many, many tragic examples of this happening over and over in our country. This was our opportunity to do something about it, but unfortunately, for reasons unbeknownst to me, our Democratic colleagues will not even allow us to pass a bill which will hold jurisdictions that refuse to enforce current Federal law accountable.

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