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The Big Problem With The GOP’s Crusade Against ‘Sanctuary Cities’

CREDIT: AP PHOTO/JACQUELYN MARTIN
CREDIT: AP PHOTO/JACQUELYN MARTIN

House and Senate Republicans who thus far haven’t taken up federal immigration legislation to deal with the 11 million undocumented immigrant population are instead trying their hand at controlling state and local policies.

On Thursday, the House will vote on Rep. Duncan Hunter’s (R-CA) “Enforce the Law for Sanctuary Cities Act” bill that seeks to block federal funding for so-called “sanctuary cities,” where local law enforcement officials can choose not to turn undocumented immigrants over to federal immigration authorities for potential deportation proceedings.

But in appealing to nativist sentiments in a way that would likely thrill the immigrant-bashing presidential candidate Donald Trump, Republicans are instead undermining policies that could help local community members work together to root out actual criminals.

First introduced in the House Judiciary Committee four years ago, Hunter’s bill is now gaining traction in the wake of Kathryn Steinle’s murder by an undocumented immigrant in San Francisco. His bill seeks to restrict federal law enforcement funding to states and localities that choose not to turn over suspected undocumented immigrants.

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Meanwhile, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) announced Wednesday that he will introduce a more expansive bill that would broaden the scope of when jurisdictions have to cooperate with immigration authorities. The bill would punish criminal immigrants with felonies, or misdemeanor offenses relating to driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Grassley’s measure would also increase the penalty for immigrants who try to reenter the country from two years to five years.

But advocates fear that such legislation could actually hamper law enforcement agencies from providing assistance and responding to crimes.

“Community trust is essential for public safety for the entire community,” Grace Meng, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, told ThinkProgress. “When local law enforcement is involved in federal immigration enforcement, immigrant victims of crime are often afraid to report abuse or share what they’ve witnessed. It’s important that local law enforcement agencies enact policies that tell immigrants, ‘don’t be afraid. Please report crime,’ that immigration status isn’t a factor for whether a victim should speak out.”

Meng pointed to the case of Gabriela Cordova-Soto, a long-term permanent resident who came to the United States at the age of nine months, and was deported as an adult after a drug possession conviction. She illegally re-entered the United States to reunite with her U.S. citizen husband and their four children, but charged with illegal reentry and served a year in prison.

Meng said that “[Cordova-Soto’s] family was scared to death because of drug-related violence. Her case is a very good example of how someone can have a criminal record and that often hides a broader story and highlights how when someone has no option to return legally, four children are a very strong pull.”

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“To say that someone like Gabriela should get a mandatory minimum of five years doesn’t serve any purpose,” Meng said. “She turned her life around, she worked really hard.”

If Grassley’s bill is put into law, Cordova-Soto would be put in prison for five years. So would many other immigrants who return to the United States to reunite with their families. A Human Rights Watch report found that 85,000 immigrants were prosecuted for illegal entry or re-entry in 2013, with the top three reasons being that they were seeking work, reuniting with family, or fleeing violence or persecution.

Sanctuary cities originated in the 1980s as an outgrowth of the Sanctuary Movement, which saw an exodus of Central Americans fleeing violence into the United States. Churches responded by providing refuge to them and municipalities followed suit.

Immigrant advocates maintain that sanctuary cities are effective because they allow undocumented immigrants to report crimes that they otherwise would be hesitant to come forward to talk about. A 2015 National Latin@ Network for Healthy Families and Communities survey found that 41 percent of foreign-born Latinas interviewed reported that they were afraid to call the police or go to court because they feared they could be deported.

Juan Carlos Areán, the senior director of the National Latin@ Network told ThinkProgress in April that the fear of deportation comes from anecdotal evidence. “When immigrants call the police, they might end up getting arrested themselves because of the suspicion that they’re undocumented,” Areán said. “This.. builds enough fear for the community to be afraid.”

Nonetheless, the issue of sanctuary cities has quickly picked up steam since Steinle’s death. Opponents of the policy are using heart-wrenching stories of personal tragedy to advance their anti-immigrant agenda. Earlier this week, the House Judiciary Committee invited five family members of victims killed by undocumented immigrants to testify against immigration policies that failed to protect them. Jim Steinle, Kathryn Steinle’s father, was among those who testified and called for stronger legislation “to take these undocumented immigrant felons off our streets for good.”