Fighting back tears, Kate Steinle’s father implored a U.S. Senate committee Tuesday to pass legislation that would keep illegal immigrants like the man accused of fatally shooting his daughter on a San Francisco pier “off our streets for good.”
“It’s unbelievable to see so many innocent Americans that have been killed by undocumented immigrant felons in the recent years,” said Jim Steinle, who traveled from Pleasanton with his wife, Liz Sullivan, to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Our family realized the complexity of immigration laws; however, we feel strongly that some legislation should be discussed, enacted or changed to take these undocumented immigrant felons off our streets for good.”
The anguished pleas of Steinle and others who lost loved ones at the hands of illegal immigrants reignited Congress’ simmering debate over immigration policy, fueled by the searing rhetoric of presidential campaigns now underway. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle offered bills to crack down on the hundreds of “sanctuary” communities like San Francisco and Santa Clara County that have openly defied federal immigration enforcement, while officials in those communities vowed more cooperation.
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who chaired the committee hearing, have floated bills to force reluctant local “sanctuary” communities to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
Kate Steinle, 32, was fatally shot July 1, allegedly by an illegal immigrant whom local authorities refused to turn over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
More than 250 communities across the country have stopped fully honoring so-called immigration detainers, saying they can’t hold inmates beyond their scheduled release dates without violating their civil rights. Immigrant-rights advocates say such requests erode police relations with immigrant communities, particularly domestic violence cases in which family members could see a relative deported.
But relatives of several people who have been killed by illegal immigrants presented emotionally compelling testimony to the committee Tuesday in favor of tougher policies. Among them was Laura Wilkerson, of Pearland, Texas, whose 18-year-old son Josh Wilkerson was beaten to death by an illegal immigrant from Belize.
“I urge you not to wait until it’s your child or grandchild,” she said. “You never want them to live through what our family and many, many other families have survived.”
Regardless of whether the bills actually pass, the campaign by advocates of tougher immigration policies appears to be working. Since Steinle died, officials from both San Francisco and Santa Clara County have started discussing ICE’s new jails initiative, known as the Priority Enforcement Program, or PEP, with federal immigration officials.
Instead of asking all communities to detain illegal immigrants for up to 48 hours after their scheduled release — which a federal court in Oregon found was unconstitutional — ICE is now requesting that reluctant communities give the agency advance notice when certain offenders are set to be freed. They can then transfer them to federal detention facilities for possible deportation, or arrest them as they leave jail or while they are back in the community.
“We are proceeding down the road of tailoring a notification program that works for both of us,” said Dave Cortese, president of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, one of three supervisors who voted in 2011 to stop cooperating with ICE.
Supervisor Cindy Chavez, who also voted for the “sanctuary” county policy in 2011, said she also spoke over the phone with ICE officials this week.
“We had a very positive discussion,” Chavez said. But she cautioned that “there are still a bunch of questions about how notification would work” and who would be on the list.
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee’s office did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday. But at the Senate hearing Tuesday morning, Feinstein said she has strongly urged Lee and the Board of Supervisors there to participate in ICE’s notification program.
“I am pleased that Mayor Lee is taking this request seriously and is in the process of communicating with the Department of Homeland Security about participating,” Feinstein said.
Feinstein’s proposed bill would require state and local governments to notify ICE when they are about to release illegal immigrants who have been convicted of a felony, provided the agency has asked for such notification about a particular person.
“The overriding concern and a deep belief of mine is that convicted felons should be removed from the country,” she said, adding that she met with the Steinles on Monday. “What I saw was a very hurt family, but very resolute and very concerned about doing the right thing.”
Grassley’s bill, dubbed “Kate’s Law” by Fox TV personality Bill O’Reilly, goes much further. It would create a mandatory minimum five-year prison sentence for any illegal immigrant who returns to the country after being deported, not just felons, according to Grassley’s press secretary. Grassley also wants to block federal grants for cities and other local governments that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration officials. The funding includes $68 million under the Second Chance Act, which helps people returning home after their release from jail or prison. It also includes an unspecified amount of money paid to reimburse local communities and states for the cost of incarcerating undocumented immigrants who are being held as a result of local convictions.
“Real lives are at stake,” Grassley said. “Things cannot continue this way.”
But immigrant advocates denounced the approach.
“Policies that turn local police into immigration enforcers will chill relationships with their immigrant communities, making them less likely to report crimes or come forward as witnesses,” said Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center. “We agree with local law enforcement officials that this type of legislation would undermine state and local law enforcement’s efforts to build and restore community trust.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story. Contact Tracey Kaplan at 408-278-3482. Follow her at Twitter.com/tkaplanreport.
