Reps. Gosar, Brooks, Buck and King Lead Effort in the House to Defund Sanctuary Cities

Statement

Today, Representatives Paul Gosar (AZ-04), Mo Brooks (AL-05), Steve King (IA-04) and Ken Buck (CO-04) released the following statements after leading and submitting an appropriations language request to the House Appropriations Committee to prevent funds from going to "sanctuary cities" that prevent law enforcement officials from faithfully executing our immigration laws:

"The concept of "sanctuary city' policies is in direct opposition to the Rule of Law and our Constitution. Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4, gives Congress clear jurisdiction on immigration matters," stated Congressman Paul Gosar. "I'm pleased to see President Trump and Attorney General Sessions lead on this issue, but the House must also act by using the power of the purse. It's long past time for Congress to crack down and defund sanctuary city policies that are proven to be deadly and put the security of our communities at risk."

"Congress has an opportunity to work with the Trump Administration and enforce our nation's immigration laws with respect to sanctuary cities," said Congressman Mo Brooks. "Cities and localities who have refused to comply with federal immigration laws and knowingly shield dangerous felons from removal by ICE present a clear danger to our Republic. According to an ICE report from March of 2017, there are an estimated 300 cities and counties obstructing federal immigration agents from doing their jobs to deport dangerous criminals, thereby intentionally endangering Americans."

"Sanctuary cities force the federal government to spend more money on immigration enforcement," stated Congressman Ken Buck. "We must assert federal authority on federal issues and cut off funding for cities that violate the rule of law, which is what this appropriations request does."

"The immigration system in the United States has an enforcement problem," said Congressman Steve King. "The lawlessness of the Obama Administration has trickled down to at least 340 local so-called "sanctuary' jurisdictions that openly defy federal law and release dangerous criminals. It is an absolute disgrace that a year and a half has passed since Kate Steinle was tragically murdered by an illegal alien who had several felony convictions, had been deported from the United States five times and yet was being harbored in a "sanctuary city.' That is why I introduced "Kate's Law' back in January in an effort to amend federal law to impose a mandatory minimum sentence of five years for any illegal reentry offense. It is time Congress acts to protect Americans from 100% preventable crimes, and we can start by enforcing our federal immigration laws."