On September 17, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary will hold a rescheduled mark-up of the “Stop Sanctuary Cities Act” (S.1814). Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Senator David Vitter (R-LA) plan to offer a substitute amendment to the bill that would strip CDBG funding from communities that have immigrant “sanctuary” laws and policies in place.
The substitute amendment defines a “sanctuary city” as a state or unit of general local government that:
- Has a law, policy, or practice that prohibits or restricts sending to or receiving information from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on any individual’s citizenship or immigration status, lawful, or unlawful, or
- Fails to comply with a detainer or a DHS notification request about the release of a person from custody who is not a U.S. citizen or a U.S. national.
NLIHC is coordinating a sign-on letter addressed to Senators on the Committee opposing the Vitter-Grassley substitute amendment. The letter states that “while the purported goal of the Vitter-Grassley amendment is to make America’s communities more secure, the amendment does anything but. Instead, this amendment will undermine local efforts to improve the safety and quality of life of residents by depriving communities of CDGB funding needed to undertake initiatives to stabilize neighborhoods and provide decent affordable housing for low income households. Our government should not play politics with communities’ ability to serve their residents by holding essential CDBG funding hostage.”
Because the mark-up was rescheduled, national, state, and local groups, as well as municipalities, still have time to join the letter. The deadline for signing the letter is September 15 at noon ET.
Read and sign onto the letter at http://nlihc.org/issues/participation/cdbg-letter
More about the Judiciary Committee hearing is at http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/executive-business-meeting-09-17-15