On Sanctuary Cities, Congressional Hearings are Fine, but Meaningless without Action

On July 21, Senate Judiciary Chair Charles Grassley will hear testimony from family members of illegal alien crimes. Grassley said that his hearing’s purpose is to “highlight how misguided the Obama administration’s lax enforcement policies are and how these policies are putting Americans in harm’s way.” Also invited are Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Immigration Customs and Enforcement Director Sarah Saldaña.

San Francisco sheriff defends the indefensible, sanctuary cities for illegal aliens.

The federal immigration officials will be grilled on the danger that the nation’s more than 270 sanctuary cities pose to innocent American citizens. Additionally, the panel will focus on San Francisco where five-time deportee and seven-time convicted felon Francisco Sanchez shot and killed Kate Steinle. Last year, California, which has more than 30 sanctuary cities, received $40 million in federal funding to detain illegal aliens until they could safely be turned over to ICE.

Since his election to the House of Representatives in 1974, Grassley has been a solid ally in the fight for sensible immigration. He has worked to end illegal immigration and voted against irresponsible amnesties.

While holding hearings may be valuable, and is certainly better than not convening them, the time for pomp is over. Americans are disgusted with federal, state and local governments catering to illegal immigrants and subsidizing their presence. A recent Rasmussen poll found that 62 percent of likely voters want the Department of Justice to take legal action against cities that harbor aliens.

At the hearing, Johnson and Saldana won’t learn anything they don’t already know. They’re already fully aware of the illegal alien crime wave that has swept through America for years and has accelerated during President Obama’s indifferent administration. To date, no one in the Obama administration has reached out to anyone in the Steinle family. Furthermore, Obama’s pro-immigration henchmen are skilled at dodging even the most pointed questions.

Grassley’s Senate colleague Jeff Sessions and U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy have introduced companion bills known as the Davis-Oliver Act, named after the slain Sacramento County deputy sheriffs murdered by a twice-deported alien. Until Congress passes legislation that will block federal aid, increase interior enforcement, mandate the deportation of criminal aliens within 90 days, and empower local governments with Congressional authority to assist with federal immigration law enforcement, nothing will happen.

Please go to the CAPS Action Alert page here to tell your senators to support Sessions’ important bill.