Senate

Cruz: Link sanctuary cities fight to ‘must-pass’ bill

by Jordain Carney - 10/20/15 12:36 PM ET

Sen. Ted Cruz on Tuesday pushed GOP leadership to attach legislation cracking down on immigration sanctuary cities to a must-pass bill if Democrats block a stand-alone proposal.

“If a party-line vote blocks it, then the next step is not simply to have a vote. The next step is to attach this legislation to must-pass legislation and to actually fix the problem,” the Texas Republican said.

{mosads}Cruz’s remarks come ahead of a procedural vote on ending debate on whether to take up stand-alone legislation from Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) that would limit federal funds for cities that don’t comply with immigration law and increase penalties for undocumented immigrants who reenter the country after being deported.

Democrats are expected to block the Senate from moving forward with Vitter’s proposal, with Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.) declaring this week that the bill is going nowhere.

“Today’s vote is nothing but a political show vote. Senator Vitter knows his legislation has no chance of passing the Senate or being signed into law,” Schumer added.

But Cruz praised Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for bringing up the legislation, calling it “one of the few things in the last 10 months we have voted on that actually responds to the concerns of the men and women who elected us.”

Cruz didn’t specify to what “must-pass” bill he would like to see Republican leaders attach Vitter’s legislation, but lawmakers face upcoming deadlines to pass a long-term highway funding bill and increase the debt ceiling.

He added that “leadership loves to speak of what they call governing, and in Washington governing is always said at least an octave lower, governing. Well, when it comes to stopping sanctuary cities and protecting our safety, we need some governing.”

Tags Chuck Schumer David Vitter Harry Reid Mitch McConnell Ted Cruz