WASHINGTON ― Legislation that would have withheld federal funding from so-called sanctuary cities, which do not fully cooperate with federal immigration authorities, failed to overcome a major procedural hurdle in the Senate on Wednesday. A related measure aimed at punishing repeatedly deported immigrants also failed.
Though the issue of immigration has raged on the campaign trail, neither measure won the simple majority needed to advance in the upper chamber.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) brought the two bills to the floor ― the sanctuary cities legislation, authored by Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), and the other to establish a five-year mandatory minimum sentence for repeatedly deported immigrants who try to return to the U.S., offered by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
Toomey has leaned into the immigration debate heavily during his re-election campaign. Ahead of Wednesday’s vote, he reminded the Senate that both bills were inspired by the “horrendous” shooting of 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle last year in San Francisco. Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, an undocumented immigrant who had previously been deported five times, was charged in Steinle’s murder.
“Now, why in the world would the San Francisco law enforcement folks release a seven-time convicted felon, five-time deported person who was known to be dangerous and in the face of a request from the Department of Homeland Security? Why would they release such a person?” Toomey asked. “Because San Francisco is a sanctuary city.”
Democratic Senate candidate Katie McGinty, who is challenging Toomey, criticized the incumbent over the bill, claiming it would have cut nearly $40 million in federal funding for Philadelphia ― another sanctuary city.
Supporters of sanctuary cities argue that they actually increase public safety: Undocumented immigrants are more likely to bring information to local police when they don’t fear they’ll be outed to federal authorities.
Other Democrats assailed the Republican leadership for bringing the bills to floor when they’d failed in the past, accusing them of crafting a schedule to boost presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump ahead of the Republican National Convention.
“There’s no reason to waste more time on Trump’s agenda,” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) piled on, asking why the Senate needed to vote on the sanctuary cities legislation when it had voted on the same issue just last October.
“They need them before the convention,” Durbin said. “The U.S. Senate should not have its members serve as extras in a Trump campaign ad.”