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'Kate's Law': GOP could win big with bills addressing illegal immigration
On July 1, 2015 -- almost exactly two years ago to the day -- Kathryn Steinle was shot and killed while walking in San Francisco by an undocumented immigrant who had been deported from the U.S. multiple times after repeatedly entering the country illegally.
A law named for Kathryn, "Kate's Law," is one of two bills the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to consider on Thursday meant to both crack down on "sanctuary cities" and toughen penalties for those previously deported who re-enter or attempt to re-enter the country.
Kate Steinle was just one victim of a crime committed by an undocumented immigrant, and the stories of others like Kate -- those whose lives were ended by crimes committed by people who entered the U.S. illegally -- have found a prominent placement in the narrative of the downfalls of America's immigration system at the bedrock of President Trump's platform.
Many of these victims' families felt championed by the president's campaign agenda, and movement of these two bills through the House could mean Trump is one step closer to making good on his "law and order" promises he proudly touted throughout the 2016 election season.
Fathers like Jamiel Shaw and Steve Ronnebeck, whose sons were both gunned down by illegal immigrants, were invited by the Trump team to take part in campaign events. Jamiel Shaw appeared at the 2016 Republican National Convention to tell the story of his 17-year-old son's death, while Ronnebeck spoke at an August campaign rally in Phoenix, where he told a crowd of his son's being shot in the face while working a shift at a convenience store in Mesa, Ariz.
Sabine Durden's 30-year-old son, Dominic, was killed in 2012 while driving his motorcycle when an undocumented immigrant crashed into him with a pickup truck. Durden, like Jamiel Shaw, spoke of her son's death and the need for at the RNC.
"'I've been talking about my son's death since he was killed in 2012, and no one listened until Donald Trump," Durden said. "Donald Trump is not only my hero. He's my lifesaver."
Both "Kate's Law" and the "No Sanctuary for Criminals Act" are sponsored by GOP Rep. Bob Goodlatte, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee.
"We passed [Kate's Law] in the last Congress and it didn't go anywhere," Goodlatte recently told Fox News, "and we're hoping the Senate will take it up because it has such enormous public support."
According to the Hill, Democrats will encourage members of their caucus to vote no on the bill cracking down on sanctuary cities, but will be less so pressing when it comes to "Kate's Law."
