Sarah and Grant’s Law: Cutting Grant Funding for Sanctuary States & Cities (H.R. 3003)

What is H.R. 3003?

(Updated April 2, 2019)

This bill would try to prevent so-called sanctuary jurisdictions — states and localities that don’t enforce federal immigration law — from refusing to honor detainers issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for unauthorized immigrants by withholding certain federal law enforcement grants. It would also establish probable cause standards for the issuance of detainers, protect jurisdictions that comply with ICE detainers, and unauthorized immigrants who are convicted of drunk driving or arrested for other dangerous crimes are detained during their removal proceedings.

Jurisdictions that honor ICE detainers would be protected would be protected from lawsuits, whereas those that ignore or reject ICE detainers could be sued by the victims of crimes committed by an unauthorized immigrant released on bond by that jurisdiction.

This bill would also enact a provision entitled Sarah and Grant’s Law, which would prohibit unauthorized immigrants convicted of driving under the influence, or who have been arrested or charged with a serious crime resulting in the death or bodily harm of another person from being released while they await removal proceedings. Unauthorized immigrants detained under this authority would only be eligible for bond if they can show clear and convincing evidence that they aren’t a flight risk or a danger to the community.

Argument in favor

States and cities that adopt sanctuary policies and refuse to honor federal requests to detain criminal unauthorized immigrants shouldn’t receive federal law enforcement grants.

Argument opposed

The federal government should give states law enforcement grants and let them set their own priorities. Conditioning grants on the enforcement of immigration law may be unconstitutional.

Impact

Victims of crimes committed by unauthorized immigrants; criminal unauthorized immigrants; sanctuary jurisdictions; and federal law enforcement agencies.

Cost of H.R. 3003

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) introduced this bill “to combat dangerous sanctuary policies that shield unlawful and criminal immigrants from federal immigration enforcement.” In a press release, he explained the origins of the provision entitled Sarah and Grant’s Law:

“In January 2016, an unlawful immigrant driving drunk struck Sarah Root’s car and subsequently killed her. She had just graduated from college. To make matters worse, the person responsible was released from custody and is still on the loose. And in January 2015, Grant Ronnebeck was murdered at a convenience store by a convicted felon who was free on bond while facing deportation.”

The Trump administration released a statement that it “strongly supports” this bill, which would “ensure that American taxpayers are not subsidizing States and localities that work to affirmatively thwart Federal law enforcement efforts.”

The National Immigration Forum has expressed its opposition to this bill, which it says would increase incarceration costs and “do little to help public safety” by compelling state and local officials to enforce federal immigration law. It also questioned whether conditioning federal grants on compliance with immigration law was constitutional.

This legislation has the support of nine Republican cosponsors in the House.

Of Note: According to ICE’s Priority Enforcement Program, there are more than 275 sanctuary jurisdictions that haven’t honored ICE detainers — 16,495 of which were declined between January 2014 and June 2015.

Media:

• House Judiciary Committee Press Release
  
• White House Statement of Administration Policy
  
• Republican Policy Committee
  
• Politico
  
• National Immigration Forum (Opposed)