Sacramento, California, July 16, 2015 ___ Following the tragic
shooting death of Kathryn Steinle in San Francisco at the hands of a
previously deported convicted felon, Senator Mike Morrell (R-Rancho
Cucamonga) has introduced Senate Joint Resolution 17 to
call on Congress to pass legislation that would inhibit the ability of
sanctuary cities to harbor deported criminals who have since returned to the
United States illegally.
"Sanctuary cities across the country have willingly defied
the federal government in choosing to protect criminals over the lives of
law-abiding citizens," said Morrell. "Kathryn's death is a tragic example of the dangers these
policies pose for our neighborhoods and communities. Congress needs to remove
the incentive for convicted criminals to defiantly return to the United
States after deportation. As legislators, we must join together in
recognizing that it is the duty of all elected officials to preserve the
safety of those we represent."
If approved by the legislature, the resolution would urge
Congress to pass a measure creating a mandatory sentence of five years in a
federal penitentiary for an individual who has returned to the United States
illegally after having been deported and previously convicted of a felony.
Such a proposal is currently being discussed nationwide as "Kate's
Law".
The full text of SJR 17 can be
found here.
Kathryn Steinle was killed on July 1 while visiting San
Francisco with her father. The alleged gunman, Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez,
is a seven-time convicted felon and has
been deported five times. He was turned over to San Francisco authorities in March
for drug offenses. Rather than comply with a request by federal authorities
to be notified of Lopez-Sanchez's release, San Francisco officials, in
keeping with the city's misguided sanctuary law, ignored it, placing the
lives of citizens in harm's way.
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