WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on Congress and immigration policy (all times local):
5:25 p.m.
The House has approved a bill to strip federal dollars from “sanctuary” cities that shield residents from federal immigration authorities.
The bill is one of two immigration measures the House was considering Thursday as it moves to crack down on illegal immigration, a key priority for President Donald Trump. A separate measure would stiffen punishments for people who re-enter the U.S. illegally.
Trump often railed against illegal immigration during his presidential campaign, and his support for tougher immigration policies is crucial to his voting base.
The sanctuary measure was approved, 228-195. It would bar states and localities that refuse to cooperate with immigration authorities from receiving certain Justice Department and Homeland Security grants, including some related to law enforcement and terrorism.
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12:10 p.m.
The Republican-led House is moving forward with legislation to crack down on illegal immigration, a priority for President Donald Trump.
A bill known as “Kate’s Law” would impose harsher prison sentences on deportees who re-enter the United States.
The bill is named after 32-year old Kathryn Steinle, who was shot and killed in California in 2015 by a man who was in the U.S. illegally.
A second bill would strip federal dollars from self-proclaimed “sanctuary” cities that shield residents from federal immigration authorities.
Trump often railed against illegal immigration during his presidential campaign. He met at the White House on Wednesday with more than a dozen people whose family members were killed by people who were in the country illegally.
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