Rep. Veasey Statement on House Republicans’ ‘Sanctuary Cities’ Legislation
Congressman Veasey votes against H.R. 3009, Enforce the Law for Sanctuary Cities Act, in favor of constructive action on comprehensive immigration reform
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Marc Veasey, TX-33, issued the following statement after voting against H.R. 3009, "Enforce the Law for Sanctuary Cities" Act, which works to undermine local law enforcement departments nationwide:
"While I fully support keeping our communities safe, this piece of legislation undermines local law enforcement‘s ability to build trust in their communities and ensure public safety as part of their defined local and state responsibilities.
H.R. 3009 pushes the rhetoric that immigrants are inherently dangerous, which statistics prove false time and time again. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, incarceration rates for native-born men age 18-39 are almost triple that of foreign-born Mexican men of the same age group. House Republicans can continue to fight the facts about our country's diverse immigrant community, but I refuse to support such inflammatory legislation.
Punishing police departments by cutting critical funding needed to carry out their local law enforcement duties is irresponsible and unproductive. Immigration enforcement is first and foremost a federal responsibility and this is why the duty to fix our broken immigration lies in Congress. Rather than adopting deportation only policies, House Republicans need to sit down with House Democrats to pass a comprehensive immigration bill that secures our borders, provides legal work status, unites families, creates a path to citizenship, and grows our economy."
###