Senate failed to invoke cloture on two immigration measures

Two immigration measures sponsored by Republican lawmakers failed to pass procedural hurdles in the Senate in July.

Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act (S. 3100) 

Sponsor: Sen. Pat Toomey [R, PA]

Toomey bill would have blocked federal funding for “sanctuary cities,” cities or counties that bar local enforcement from complying with federal immigration authorities. Bill failed to reach cloture by vote of 53-44.

Next up — Kate's Law, named after Kate Steinle, a San Francisco resident who was shot and killed by an illegal immigrant who had been deported multiple times.

Kate's Law (S. 2193) 

Sponsor: Sen. Ted Cruz [R, TX]

Cruz bill would have increased the maximum penalty for illegal re-entry into the country fromtwo to five years, as well as imposing a maximum 10-year sentence on an individual who has been removed from the country 3 times.

Refresher: Senate defeated similar measure last year, failing to invoke cloture by 54-45 vote.

So what is a Sanctuary City?

The term sanctuary city is given to cities that have policies designed to shelter immigrants who are in the United States illegally. These practices can be by law (de jure) or they can be by practice (de facto) Generally, these cities do not allow municipal funds or resources to be used to enforce federal immigration laws, usually by not allowing police or municipal employees to inquire about an individual's immigration status.
 
As the White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest explained, “one of the characteristic elements of our broken immigration system is the significant challenges that the federal government and federal law enforcement officials have had in enforcing the law by working closely with local law enforcement officials. And this is something that the United States Congress had the opportunity to fix in the context of comprehensive immigration reform legislation. But this fix was blocked by Republicans in the House of Representatives.” 
 
When comprehensive immigration reform efforts failed in Congress last year, President Obama “acted on his own; and in acting on his own, the President actually scrapped the Secure Communities Program” in November 2014. This was the program that previously codified the relationship between the federal government and local law enforcement that actually caused a number of cities to declare themselves sanctuary cities.
 
The Secure Communities Program was then replaced by the Priority Enforcement Program, which focuses on convicted criminals and others who pose a danger to public safety. The Program enables the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to work with state and local law enforcement to take custody of individuals who pose a danger before those individuals are released into our communities. (Source: DHS)

Please keep in mind that highlighting a bill does not imply POPVOX endorsement in any way. As always, our goal is to offer one more way to help you stay informed about the complex U.S. legislative system.