House passes bill that would punish sanctuary cities for not cooperating with federal immigration efforts

The House of Representatives approved H.R. 3003, the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act, marking the first immigration enforcement bill passed by Congress since Pres. Trump took office in January.

The No Sanctuary for Criminals Act clarifies the definition of a sanctuary jurisdiction, imposes penalties on jurisdictions that fail to cooperate with federal enforcement efforts, and provides immunity for local police who assist with the enforcement of federal immigration laws by honoring ICE detainers.

The bill passed mostly along party lines with three Democrats joining the Republicans in favor of the bill, including Reps. Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania, Henry Cuellar of Texas, and Collin Peterson of Minnesota.

While we're disappointed that the House has not yet voted to pass the Davis-Oliver Act, which was approved by the House Judiciary Committee several weeks ago, we're hopeful that today's vote will create some momentum so the vote can be held before August.

Our Capitol Hill team sent out a scoring notice to Members of Congress earlier this week, asking lawmakers to vote in favor of H.R. 3003, but also urging House Members to move forward with the Davis-Oliver Act. Pres. Trump continued to push for passage of the Davis-Oliver Act in remarks that he delivered yesterday while meeting with the families of victims killed by illegal aliens yesterday.

[T]he Davis-Oliver Act, whose passage I called for nearly a year ago at my inauguration speech and immigration speech -- both -- the immigration speech taking place in Phoenix, Arizona. The Davis-Oliver Act was named for Detective Michael Davis and Deputy Sheriff Danny Oliver, who were gunned down in the line of duty by an illegal immigrant with a criminal record and two prior deportations. And everybody knew this person was big, big trouble, and they begged law enforcement to get him out. And they were unable to do that.

-- Pres Trump, June 28, 2017

The House also passed H.R. 3004, Kate's Law, today. The original Kate's Law, as introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), included mandatory minimum sentences for foreign nationals who repeatedly cross the border illegally. But the version passed today removed the mandatory minimums, leaving the penalties up to a judge.

Chris chmielenski