WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked legislation to crack down on “sanctuary cities” that shield residents from federal immigration authorities, casting the bill as anti-immigration policy that echoes the rhetoric of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
The 54-45 vote on the measure fell shy of the 60 required to move to final vote on the bill, which Republicans have pushed since the July 1 shooting of Kathryn Steinle in San Francisco. The man charged in the killing, Juan Francisco Lopez Sanchez, was in the country illegally despite a long criminal record and multiple prior deportations. He had been released by San Francisco authorities despite a request from federal immigration authorities to keep him detained.
The bill by Louisiana Sen. David Vitter would punish jurisdictions that don’t share immigration information or cooperate with federal requests, blocking them from receiving certain grants and funds.
“Rather than reward cities, we must start enforcing our current immigration laws and strengthen our borders to keep Americans here safe at home,” he said.
San Francisco and hundreds of other jurisdictions have adopted policies of disregarding federal immigration requests, which advocates say can unfairly target innocent immigrants and hurt relations between immigrant communities and law enforcement.
The White House threatened to veto the bill, saying it would jeopardize crucial law enforcement dollars and lead to mistrust between federal and local officials. The administration has criticized cities such as San Francisco for not cooperating fully with immigration officials, but has tried to work with them through a program that would allow federal officials to be notified before a serious criminal is released.
Congressional Democrats and the Obama administration have said that the best way to get at the problem is a comprehensive immigration overhaul, something House Republicans have blocked for years.
Republicans have called for stricter enforcement. The GOP House passed legislation similar to Vitter’s bill this summer, which the White House also threatened to veto.
Fifty-two Republicans and two Democrats — Indiana’s Joe Donnelly and Joe Manchin of West Virginia — voted for the measure. Forty-two Democrats, two independents and one Republican — Illinois’ Mark Kirk — opposed it.
Three Republican presidential candidates — Ted Cruz of Texas, Marco Rubio of Florida and Kentucky’s Randy Paul — backed the legislation.
