It’s yesterday’s news literally that the House passed “Kate’s Law” and bill declaring war on sanctuary cities. If it weren’t for all the turmoil that has arisen over Donald Trump’s unfortunate decision to lash out at Joe Scarborough and Mika Brezinski over their juvenile daily sniping, the president would have had a very good day politically.
“Kate’s Law,” named for Kate Steinle, who was murdered by an illegal alien, would increase maximum penalties for illegals re-entering the country after deportation.
The other piece of legislation, known as the “No Sanctuary for Criminals Act,” would curtail law enforcement funds to cities that fail to comply with federal immigrant enforcement.
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
Which has prompted proponents of sanctuary cities to try to pull wool over the eyes of Republican lawmakers and the president. The Chicago Tribune explains:
[M]any cities and school districts across the country are extending a welcome mat of sorts to immigrants. Called “welcoming” ordinances, they offer some measure of protection with inclusive policies for all residents.
One slightly hilarious feature of the initiative is the plan to replace the term sanctuary city with “welcoming city.”
The movement even has a website called Welcoming America, which answers the question “What is a welcoming city or county?” helpfully by explaining that “a Welcoming City or County is one that joins Welcoming America.”
To be fair, there is much more in the same vein, but nowhere in the spiel does the word illegal or even undocumented appear. Instead, it appears that the organizers have come up with another neologism in “long-term immigrant,” the utility of which is pretty questionable. Consider that my grandparents emigrated to the U.S. from Scotland as teenagers in 1927. They were naturalized soon after and lived here most of their lives, which by my lights makes them long-term immigrants. Perhaps the geniuses at Welcoming America can tell me where I’m wrong.
