Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a Republican-backed bill that would crack down on so-called sanctuary cities by threatening to withhold funds to local governments that don't cooperate with federal immigration officials.
The bill failed on a 54-45 vote. It needed 60 to advance.
The Stop Sanctuary Cities Act became a lightning rod issue ahead of the vote, as GOP sponsors tried to peel off just a few Democrats to support it while Democratic leaders blasted the legislation as counterproductive. The White House issued a formal veto threat Tuesday morning, while the chamber's top Democrat tried to discredit the measure by calling it "The Donald Trump Act."
But GOP backers cast the legislation as a critical first step toward reining in the exploding, and risky, practice of cities and counties ignoring federal immigration law.
"Sanctuary cities and the associated violent crimes by illegal immigrants are reaching a critical point, and we cannot wait any longer to take action to protect Americans here at home," sponsor Sen. David Vitter, R-La., said in a statement.
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3 comments:
Since when can a city decide not to obey a federal law? It is time to enforce the laws we have. Looks like if we don't vote out all Democrats our society is doomed to lawlessness.
Anyone can ignore any law. It is the consequences that convince us not to ignore them. So far there are no consequences to ignoring ICE.
Sanctuary Cities are against the law!
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