Rep. Steve King wants to give U.S. Capitol Police the authority to enforce federal immigration laws on Capitol Hill, where illegal immigrants have staged protests, demonstrations and sit-ins over the past few years in a bid to push lawmakers into passing bills that would give them with path to citizenship or legalization.
King, R-Iowa, is a staunch opponent of immigration reform that provides a pathway to citizenship for the millions of people who live here illegally, and he wants Capitol Police to have the power to arrest illegals.
“The Capitol Police, a federal law enforcement agency, do not have explicit statutory authority to enforce our immigration laws,” King said in a statement. “Without clear authority they are not investigating the immigration status of protesters openly claiming they are here illegally while disrupting Committee proceedings and shutting down Congressional offices.”
The Capitol Police did not respond to a request for a comment on the proposal.
King’s legislation, “Ending the Sanctuary Capitol Policy Act of 2015,” would authorize Capitol Police officers to investigate people, “with respect to any violation of the immigration laws, if the officer is in the performance of official duties when the authority is exercised.”
King said it is important for the Capitol to enforce federal immigration laws as the Republican-led House and Senate work to pass legislation that would end so-called sanctuary city that shield illegal immigrants in dozens jurisdictions around the country.
“The Rule of Law rests on reliable enforcement everywhere and Congress needs to take the sanctuary plank out of its own eye,” King said.
Illegal immigrants have staged numerous recent protests in dozens of Capitol Hill offices, including King’s as well as the offices of Sens. Jeff Session, R-Ala., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
The protesters say they want to influence lawmakers who do not support immigration reform policies that will allow them to remain legally in the United States.
