House Republicans push 2 illegal-immigration bills

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is joined by Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, left, chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security, and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., as the Republican-led House pushes ahead on legislation to crack down on illegal immigration, during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, June 29, 2017. One bill would strip federal funds from "sanctuary" cities that shield residents from federal immigration authorities, while a separate bill would stiffen punishments on people who re-enter the U.S. Illegally. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is joined by Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, left, chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security, and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., as the Republican-led House pushes ahead on legislation to crack down on illegal immigration, during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, June 29, 2017. One bill would strip federal funds from "sanctuary" cities that shield residents from federal immigration authorities, while a separate bill would stiffen punishments on people who re-enter the U.S. Illegally. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON -- House Republicans approved two bills to crack down on illegal immigration, a key priority for President Donald Trump.

One bill would strip federal dollars from self-proclaimed "sanctuary" cities that shield residents from federal immigration authorities, and a separate measure would stiffen punishments for people who re-enter the U.S. illegally.

The sanctuary measure was approved 228-195, and the bill to punish deportees was approved 257-167. Arkansas' delegation of four Republicans voted for the sanctuary measure, as did three Democrats and all but seven Republicans. Meanwhile, 24 Democrats backed the deportee bill. Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan was the only Republican who opposed the deportee bill.

The bills now go to the Senate.

[U.S. immigration: Data visualization of selected immigration statistics, U.S. border map]

Trump, who often railed against illegal immigration during his presidential campaign, hailed passage of the House bills and urged the Senate to act to "save American lives." Trump met at the White House this week with more than a dozen family members of those killed by people in the country illegally.

"Opposing these bills, and allowing dangerous criminals back into our communities, our schools and the neighborhoods where our children play, puts all of us at risk," Trump said.

One of the bills, known as "Kate's Law," would impose harsher prison sentences on deportees who re-enter the United States. The bill is named after 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle, who was shot and killed in San Francisco in 2015 by a man who was in the country illegally. Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, who pleaded innocent to the crime, had been released by sheriff's officials months earlier despite a request by immigration officials to keep him behind bars.

A second bill would bar states and localities that refuse to cooperate with immigration authorities from receiving certain Justice Department and Homeland Security grants, including some related to law enforcement and terrorism.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said the two bills would help "avoid the kind of tragic circumstances that have totally involved the lives of the people who were at the White House ... speaking up for their loved ones."

Democrats said the bills were feel-good measures intended to make lawmakers look tough on crime.

"We're not doing bumper stickers here. We are doing laws," said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.

She and other Democrats said the sanctuary measure was "about telling people how to police their cities" and telling local officials that "we in Washington, D.C., know better than you do."

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said he appreciates Congress' effort to "address the dangers of sanctuary cities and illegal immigrant offenders."

At a news conference at the Capitol with House Speaker Paul Ryan, Kelly said his agency "will enforce the laws that are passed by Congress," adding, "I am offended when members of this institution put pressure and often threaten me and my officers to ignore the laws they make."

The Justice Department's inspector general has identified California and major cities such as Chicago, New York and Philadelphia as locales with barriers to information-sharing among local police and immigration officials. The Trump administration warned nine jurisdictions in late April that they could lose coveted law enforcement grant money unless they document cooperation.

A Section on 06/30/2017

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