“Sanctuary City” = No Federal Funds
Or why the US Senators who think it is a good idea to try to roll the American voters with a critically flawed "reform" package are suffering from severe, collective case of rectal-cranial inversion. Representative Tom Tancredo managed to win a spectacular vote in the House today, inserting an amendment into a funding bill that will cut off all Federal emergency services money from a city that declares itself a "sanctuary" for illegal immigrants.
And he got 50 Democrats to support it. Read that again: 50 Democrats voted to cut off money for cities that flout Federal law.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. House of Representatives this morning voted to withhold federal emergency services funding for "sanctuary cities" that protect illegal immigrants.
Anti-illegal immigration champion Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., sponsored the measure, which he says would apply to cities such as Denver and Boulder. He was elated by its passage, which stunned critics and supporters alike.
The Littleton Republican's amendment to the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill appears to have no language specifically defining a sanctuary city. Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper has long disputed giving the city that label.
"The issue has come to fruition," Tancredo said by cell phone after the vote. "The people of the country really have spoken. It's a really good indicator of just how much closer to the people the House is than the Senate is."
The House passed the amendment, 234 to 189, with 50 Democrats voting in favor.
Tancredo and his staffers hooted and cheered from his office across the street from the Capitol immediately after the vote.
Tancredo has introduced similar amendments at least seven other times since 2004, but each has failed — often by wide margins.
That should be a strong signal for the Senate that they are in serious trouble if they try to ram this down the voter's throats. This is a bad bill that the people do not want – and the House is not likely to pass it, given these results. So the Senators – and the White House – are damaging themselves for no good reason at all.
Immigration Reform | Gaius June 15, 2007
Other Links to this Post
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bRight & Early — June 16, 2007 @ 7:13 am
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justbarkingmad.com » Blog Archive » The MSM, Tancredo and illegal immigration — June 17, 2007 @ 8:45 pm
By Anna, June 15, 2007 @ 10:20 pm
How do we find out who were the Democrats who voted for this bill? I would like to send them thank yous.
By Donny, June 15, 2007 @ 11:16 pm
You can check the roll call details at OpenCongress to see who voted for the amendment.
By Anna, June 16, 2007 @ 1:57 pm
Donny, thanks. Didn’t know about that site.