Bill Passed to Defund Sanctuary Cities

On Thursday, House Republicans passed legislation that would defund sanctuary cities.

The “No Sanctuary for Criminals Act,” which passed 228-195, would expand federal immigrant enforcement requirements for cities and allow the government to block jurisdictions federal law enforcement funds if they don’t follow demands.

Similarly, Kate’s Law, which aims to increase maximum penalties for undocumented immigrants who re-enter the country illegally after deportation, also passed 257-195

The legislation was named after Kate Steinle, a young woman who was murdered in San Francisco by an undocumented immigrant who had been deported several times prior.

Currently, in that same city, a Salvadoran man who sued San Francisco, a sanctuary city, after police turned him over to immigration, is set to be rewarded $190,000. Pedro Figueroa-Zarceno, 33, reached the settlement agreement with the city attorney’s office on Thursday.

He sued San Francisco in January for violating its sanctuary city law. According to the construction worker, he went to officers in December 2015 after he received a call letting him know that his stolen car had been found. When he arrived, however, he was detained instead of helped.

He was in jail for two months and has since been fighting his deportation.