House to Reconsider Law Named for San Fran Woman Murdered by Illegal

The House is going to have another go at passing “Kate’s Law” — a measure named after Kate Steinle, who was murdered by an illegal alien.

Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, who had been deported five times previously and had seven felony convictions, shot and killed Steinle in San Francisco in July of 2015.  Kate’s Law would impose a mandatory 10-year prison sentence for an alien who reenters after being denied admission, excluded, deported, or removed on three or more prior occasions and a mandatory 5 -year sentence if an illegal reenters after being deported following a conviction for an aggravated felony.

Washington Times:

“Parents should never experience the heartbreak of burying their child, but the Obama administration’s commitment to lawless immigration policy has made that tragedy the new normal,” Mr. King said.

“In his push for amnesty for criminals, the president ignored the price paid by victims — the price paid by Kate Steinle as she died in her father’s arms on San Francisco’s waterfront,” he said. “Kate’s beautiful life was taken from her on July 1, 2015, when she was shot in the back by an illegal alien who had previously been deported five times and was seeking refuge in a so-called sanctuary city.”

Meanwhile last week, a San Francisco judge allowed to go forward a family lawsuit accusing the federal government of contributing to Steinle’s death because of its failure to enforce immigration laws and other reasons.

In a 49-page order issued Friday, U.S. Magistrate Joseph Spero allowed Steinle’s parents to proceed with the lawsuit against the federal government but dismissed their lawsuit against the city of San Francisco.

[…]

In support of the bill in Congress, Mr. Cruz said the American people had given 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.”

“Kate’s Law is crucial to ensure that deported illegal aliens, especially those with violent criminal records, are deterred from illegally re-entering the United States to prey on innocent Americans,” Mr. Cruz said. “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.”

During the presidential campaign, Republican Donald Trump championed the Steinle family and the parents of other victims of illegal immigrant crime. Steinle’s name was included in a list of victims cited by Mr. Trump in his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

This should not be a controversial law. An illegal who crosses the border four times without bothering to do it legally should go to jail. And an illegal who is convicted of an aggravated felony should be kept out of the U.S. forever and upon reentering should be sent to prison.

Democratic obstructionism will probably doom this bill in the Senate, where it was filibustered last year and probably will be again. But every attack by an illegal alien who has been deported previously only to reenter the U.S. with impunity will remind us which side is looking out for lawbreakers and which side wants to protect the innocent.