Immigration hardliner says he’ll support sanctuary cities bill
House GOP leaders have won over one of the most ardent immigration hardliners for a bill to defund sanctuary cities in a sign it won’t face backlash from the right.
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said he assured House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in a Monday phone call that he will support a bill expected on the House floor Thursday to withhold federal law enforcement grant funding for state or local governments that don’t cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
NumbersUSA urged lawmakers to vote against the bill because the anti-immigration advocacy group doesn’t believe it goes far enough. That raised questions of whether some conservatives would rally against the measure.
{mosads}The group pointed to an amendment authored by King to a Justice Department appropriations bill earlier this year that it says is more expansive.
House Republicans are bringing up the bill in response to the death earlier this month in San Francisco of Kathryn Steinle, who was allegedly shot by an illegal immigrant with a history of felony charges. The suspect was released in April by local law enforcement in defiance of a request from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials that they receive notification of his release.
In an email to members of the Conservative Opportunity Society, a group of Republicans he chairs, King said the bill “moves the ball in the right direction.”
However, King said he “advised McCarthy that a lot of conservatives would be disappointed because we should be doing more.”
King added that McCarthy “expressed commitment” during their phone conversation to bring immigration enforcement legislation to the House floor after the August recess.
King’s amendment, which passed 227-198 in June, also prohibits Justice Department grants from being used for policies employed by sanctuary cities to shelter illegal immigrants. King said it would be “illogical” to oppose the bill authored by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) slated to hit the floor this week, given that it is similar to his measure.
Fourteen Republicans who hold more centrist views on immigration voted against King’s amendment, in a sign of likely defections in Thursday’s vote.
Democrats, meanwhile, are calling the bill the “Donald Trump Act,” in reference to the billionaire real estate mogul and GOP presidential candidate’s controversial comments insinuating that Mexican immigrants were criminals. Trump has ramped up his immigration rhetoric while Steinle’s death remains in news headlines.
“With this vote, House Republicans are running to embrace Donald Trump’s racist and offensive views. Donald Trump should not be setting the agenda for the United States Congress,” Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairwoman Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) said in a statement.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed..