Sen. Cruz Reintroduces 'Kate's Law' in 115th Congress
"The American people have given Congress and the President a mandate to reverse the dangerous course set under the Obama Administration"
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. Cruz, along with Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), David Perdue (R-Georgia), Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin), Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), and Ben Sasse (R-Nebraska) today reintroduced Kate’s Law, which was first introduced in July 2015. The legislation is named for Kate Steinle, a 32-year-old woman tragically shot and killed by an illegal alien who had several felony convictions and had been deported from the United States five times. This bill would amend federal law to impose a mandatory minimum sentence of five years for any illegal reentry offense.
“The American people gave Congress and the incoming administration a mandate to reverse the dangerous course set under the Obama Administration that has encouraged illegal immigration and enabled lawbreakers to escape prosecution,” Sen. Cruz said. “Kate’s Law is crucial to ensure that deported illegal aliens, especially those with violent criminal records, are deterred from illegally reentering the United States to prey on innocent Americans. I look forward to working with my colleagues and President-elect Trump to once and for all prevent cities from harboring illegal aliens, enforce federal immigration laws, and ensure the safety and security of the American people.”
“A year and a half has passed since Kate Steinle’s tragic death and Americans continue to be victimized by immigrants who repeatedly break our laws and re-enter our country even after being deported,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said. “In Kansas, an immigrant was recently charged with rape after being deported 19 times. This is beyond unacceptable. Clearly, more must be done to protect Americans from these terrible and fully avoidable crimes. Kate’s Law honors these victims by stepping up penalties for those who have consistently disregarded our immigration laws and jeopardized public safety. We’ll continue working diligently to honor the memory of Kate and prevent similar tragedies in the future and I look forward to moving these efforts forward.”
Sen. Cruz has been a leader of efforts in the Senate to reform the Obama administration’s inexcusable immigration policies. In October 2015, Sen. Cruz placed Kate’s Law directly on the Senate calendar, making it immediately available for floor action. Unfortunately, Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) objected to Sen. Cruz’s request for unanimous consent to pass the bill. And just last year, the bill came to the Senate floor again, but Democrats filibustered it. Bill O’Reilly has been a strong advocate for Kate’s Law and has supported Sen. Cruz’s efforts to advance the legislation.
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