This bill (S. 3100) would make states and cities ineligible for certain federal grants if they place restrictions on sharing information about the immigration status of individuals with the federal government or on fulfilling Homeland Security Department (DHS) requests to comply with “detainers,” or requests to keep an immigrant in custody.
The Senate did not vote directly on S. 3100 but on a motion to invoke cloture (and thus limit debate) so the bill could come up for a vote. The motion to invoke cloture was rejected on July 6, 2016 by a vote of 53 to 44 (Roll Call 119; a three-fifths majority of the entire Senate is required to invoke cloture). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the presence of “sanctuary cities,” in which cities and states harbor illegal immigrants and protect them from deportation, is a violation of federal immigration law. Saying such cities and states are ineligible for federal grants, while imperfect in that it essentially uses federal (and likely unconstitutional) grant money as a “bribe,” is still a step in the right direction.
