Goodlatte: Shame on San Francisco Officials for Continuing Reckless Sanctuary Policy

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) today issued the following statement on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ unanimous decision to remain a sanctuary city: “Shame on San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors for preserving its reckless sanctuary policy that led to the death of Kate Steinle. Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, the unlawful criminal alien who murdered Kate, had already been deported five times and was convicted of multiple felonies and yet he was released by authorities. Why do San Francisco officials think it is more important to shield dangerous criminal aliens from immigration enforcement than to protect the American people, including residents of their own city? “The decision by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors once again demonstrates that the Obama Administration needs to crack down on dangerous sanctuary jurisdictions. It’s not enough for Secretary Johnson to publicly criticize sanctuary policies while refusing to take meaningful steps to end them. How many Americans must die at the hands of criminal aliens before the Obama Administration addresses this public safety crisis?”   Background:

• The House Judiciary Committee’s Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee held a hearing in July 2015 to examine the dangerous policies adopted by some state and local governments that refuse to honor the federal government’s authority to enforce immigration laws, and the Obama Administration’s complicity in this problem.
• In late July 2015, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3009, the Enforce the Law for Sanctuary Cities Act, which if enacted would be a good first step toward ending sanctuary city policies.
• Legislation authored by Immigration and Border Security Chairman Trey Gowdy – H.R. 1148, the Michael Davis, Jr. and Danny Oliver in Honor of State and Local Law Enforcement Act – contains the best legislative solution to end sanctuary cities and the Obama Administration’s policies that encourage them.