Texas Sen. Ted Cruz took to the Senate floor on Wednesday to push for “Kate’s Law,” and sparked a war of words with Democratic Minority Leader Harry Reid and California Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
Kate Steinle’s death at the hands of a five-time deportee criminal sparked a national conversation on illegal immigration that animated the presidential campaigns particularly in the Republican field.
Kate’s Law would install mandatory-minimum sentences on criminal illegal immigrants who return to the United States after deportation. Cruz urged its passage and noted that voters in San Francisco rejected the re-election bid of a sheriff who defended “sanctuary city” policies and released the criminal who would kill Steinle from jail before her murder.
Reid took issue with Cruz’s legislation and noted the costs it would incur if enacted.
“This is yet another attack on the immigrant community,” Reid said. “The reason why this bill didn’t go through the Judiciary Committee is because Republican senators objected to it going through the committee.”
Cruz returned fire arguing that in Reid’s view, “apparently it’s cheaper to lose our sons and daughters.”
“You know who doesn’t agree with the Democratic leader? The voters of San Francisco,” Cruz said. “I would venture to say almost all of whom consider themselves Democrats and yet they just voted out the sheriff for saying basically the same thing the Democratic leader did.”
Feinstein rose next and said the sheriff’s failed re-election bid could not be solely attributed to the “sanctuary city” policies.
“Respectfully senator, I do not believe that you know much about San Francisco. I’m a lifelong San Franciscan,” Feinstein said. Regarding Kate’s Law, Feinstein commented “I think that going overboard and punishing everybody makes very little sense.”
Cruz fired back, arguing that Kate’s Law would not punish everyone in the immigrant community.
“Somehow incarcerating aggravated felons is punishing everyone,” Cruz said. “As the son of an immigrant I take offense at the suggestion from the Democratic Party that every immigrant is somehow an aggravated felon.”
“And Kate’s Law is targeted only to aggravated felons. It is only murderers and rapists and other violent criminals, those who have committed aggravated felonies and have re-entered the country illegally. And so what the Democratic Party is attempting to do, what the Democratic leader is attempting to do, is to suggest that incarcerating illegal immigrants who are murderers and rapists is somehow maligning or impugning immigrants. To the contrary, it is targeting violent criminals.”
Regardless of whether his legislation succeeds, the senator was likely looking to score some points outside of Washington, D.C. Opposition to illegal immigration has lifted Donald Trump in nationwide polls. And the Texas senator’s decision to showcase his opposition now comes as he and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida are jockeying for position. Rubio supported the Senate’s 2013 Gang of Eight immigration bill that immigration hawks vehemently opposed. Cruz may hope his position on immigration distinguishes him from Rubio, the other GOP presidential candidate who shares a common ethnicity, occupation and future goal of winning the White House.
