The House will vote on 2 major immigration laws next week
The House will vote on two of President Trump's major immigration-related campaign promises next week, Politico reports. Republicans are bringing Kate's Law to the floor, which would raise penalties for immigrants who attempt to re-enter the United States after deportation, along with the No Sanctuaries for Criminals Act, which would raise penalties on sanctuary cities.
Kate's Law didn't make it to the Senate floor last year, but Trump vowed in September to ask Congress to pass the law "to ensure that criminal aliens convicted of illegal re-entry receive strong, mandatory minimum sentences." The law is named after Kate Steinle, who was killed in San Francisco in 2015 by an undocumented immigrant who had a criminal record and had not been turned over to authorities due to sanctuary city protections.
Opponents of Kate's Law say it is a reaction to unfounded fears — research shows that immigrants are less likely to be criminals than people born in the U.S. — and that its five-year mandatory minimum sentence will raise the prison population by an anticipated 57,000 people, a costly toll for taxpayers. "If policies should change, it should not be in reaction to a single tragic murder," the Cato Institute's Alex Nowrasteh told The Huffington Post.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump also vowed in September that "we will end the sanctuary cities that have resulted in so many needless deaths. Cities that refuse to cooperate with federal authorities will not receive taxpayer dollars." The No Sanctuaries for Criminals Act, if passed, would "require that cities and counties comply with orders from federal immigration officials, such as 'detainers' that keep immigrants in jail so they can be picked up for deportation," Politico writes. "It would also bar Homeland Security and Justice Department grants from sanctuary cities that don't comply."
More than 200 states and localities across the U.S. do not honor ICE detention requests. The mayors of many such sanctuary cities have said they will not be intimidated by Trump's warnings. "Local governments seeking to protect their immigrant communities from federal overreach have every right to do so," said New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman in a statement.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Parker Palm Springs review: decadence in the California desert
The Week Recommends This over-the-top hotel is a mid-century modern gem
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
The real story behind the Stanford Prison Experiment
The Explainer 'Everything you think you know is wrong' about Philip Zimbardo's infamous prison simulation
By Tess Foley-Cox Published
-
Is it safe for refugees to return to Syria?
Talking Point European countries rapidly froze asylum claims after Assad's fall but Syrian refugees may have reason not to rush home
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
ABC News to pay $15M in Trump defamation suit
Speed Read The lawsuit stemmed from George Stephanopoulos' on-air assertion that Trump was found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments law
Speed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'
Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security law
Speed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitution
speed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidence
Speed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulations
Speed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriage
Speed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published