U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan (R-NY) introduced legislation on Wednesday designed to push back on dangerous sanctuary city policies.
The No Enforcement, No Grant for Sanctuary Cities Act, H.R. 5617, would hold accountable localities that refuse to comply with federal immigration laws by prohibiting them from receiving certain grant funding related to immigration enforcement, according to a statement from the congressman’s staff.
“Our government’s greatest responsibility is to protect the American people, and sanctuary city policies prevent us from fulfilling that duty. We are a nation of laws — and cities and politicians can’t pick and choose which rules to follow,” said Rep. Donovan.
Specifically, the No Enforcement, No Grant for Sanctuary Cities Act would target federal grant funds administered through the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) operated by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). SCAAP reimburses state and local governments for the cost of correctional officers who imprison criminal undocumented immigrants. In fiscal year 2016, DOJ administered $188 million in grant funds through SCAAP, according to Rep. Donovan’s office.
“It’s common sense that those unwilling to cooperate with federal authorities not be eligible to receive certain federal grant funding,” the congressman said. “The message this bill sends is clear: no person, state or locality is above the law.”
The No Enforcement, No Grant for Sanctuary Cities Act has been spurred by previous legislation proposing to penalize sanctuary cities by cutting their federal funding for anti-terror efforts. Rep. Donovan doesn’t think such initiatives should be tied to a city’s misguided sanctuary cities policy, according to his office.
For instance, Rep. Donovan in June 2017 voted against the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act, H.R. 3003, which ended up clearing the full U.S. House of Representatives on a vote of 228 to 195. However, U.S. Reps. Peter King (R-NY) and Donovan together warned that H.R. 3003 “disembowels the anti-terror apparatus” in New York City, “the world’s top terror target.”
Reps. Donovan and King said in a joint statement last summer that H.R. 3003 “takes consequences to a dangerous extreme by making New York City ineligible for hundreds of millions of dollars every year that go toward thwarting terror attacks. These dollars have no connection to immigration whatsoever, except for the fact that the NYPD hunts down terror threats and also sometimes arrests illegal aliens.”