|
WASHINGTON— U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) voted to stop the release of criminal illegal immigrants by eliminating federal funding supporting sanctuary cities. These cities harbor illegal criminals who are in the U.S. committing further crimes or repeatedly entering the U.S. after being deported. Orleans and Lafayette parishes are sanctuary cities. Dr. Cassidy released the following statement: “Louisiana families want our cities to be safe and our immigration laws to be enforced. We’ve seen what happens when cities harbor criminals illegally—a young lady in San Francisco was recently killed by an illegal immigrant who was already convicted of seven felonies and deported five times. We need to stop future crimes like this from happening.” S. 2146 includes “Kate’s Law,” which provides a five-year mandatory minimum sentence for any illegal immigrant who re-enters the U.S after having been convicted of an aggravated felony or after having been twice convicted of illegally re-entering the U.S. Kate’s law is named after Kate Steinle, who was killed on a San Francisco pier as she was walking with her father. The shooter was an illegal immigrant who had previously been convicted of seven felonies and deported five times. Just three months earlier, the Department of Homeland Security had asked San Francisco police to hold this man until they could pick him up, but the city refused to cooperate and instead released the shooter, in line with its sanctuary policy. Kate’s murder is not an isolated incident. Thousands of criminals remain in this country, protected by these sanctuary jurisdictions. ### |