NPG Deputy Director Tracy Henke can be reached by email at thenke@npg.org.

Following last year’s tragic slaying of 32-year old Kathryn Steinle in San Francisco – and the terrible consequences of that city’s blatant refusal to enforce federal immigration laws, the issue of sanctuary legislation began receiving a new burst of national attention.

This is because Steinle’s alleged killer is an illegal alien with 7 prior felony convictions who had already been deported 5 times.

According to reports, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had turned the suspect over to San Francisco police on an outstanding warrant. ICE “issued a detainer for Sanchez in March, requesting to be notified if he was going to be released.

However… following the city’s sanctuary policy, San Francisco police released Sanchez without notifying ICE.

Overwhelmed by grief and loss, the family of Kate Steinle was also understandably outraged – and they began to ask the questions that many of us wanted to know: why was Sanchez set free when he was such an obvious threat to the public? Why did San Francisco officials not follow the law and surrender Sanchez to federal officials as requested?

Despite widespread public outcry, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors recently voted unanimously to uphold the city’s Sanctuary legislation. Just days later, Kate Steinle’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit. According to Fox News: “The sheriff at the time of the killing, Ross Mirkarimi, is named in the lawsuit, along with [Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE)] and the Bureau of Land Management.”

“Frank Pitre, the lawyer for Steinle’s family, said the lawsuit points out ‘failures at every level.’“

We commend the family for standing up against such tragic injustice, and our deepest sympathies remain with them for their loss. However, as a nation we must go further – and take all action necessary to prevent the next casualty of such reckless sanctuary legislation. NPG has long denounced the growing trend of sanctuary cities throughout the nation. Noting that these communities refuse to enforce immigration laws – and actually assist those who blatantly violate U.S. laws, we have asked Congress to do everything it can to eliminate them.

For many years, NPG has called for Congress to push back against sanctuary cities – advocating the elimination of federal funding for those cities which refuse to enforce federal law. Sanctuary cities only encourage illegal immigration, which is a significant source of America’s population growth. (For more information on sanctuary jurisdictions, see NPG’s latest Position paper.)

As recently reported by Breitbart, ICE’s executive associate director of Enforcement and Removal Operations testified before a Senate subcommittee that: “Deportations are down because of President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration, because of sanctuary cities and because local authorities are refusing to honor federal immigration ‘detainer’ requests.”

This admission echoes what NPG has held for years!

That is why we need your help RIGHT NOW to keep the pressure on our elected officials!

Your continued support will help us work to end dangerous sanctuary policies and the resulting immigration-driven population growth! We have recently issued a national Press Release, and our Sanctuary Cities position paper was distributed to all NPG members, the full U.S. Congress, journalists at major national media outlets, and other organizations who share our goals. With your help, we can keep this vital issue front and center in the national spotlight.

We thank all of our supporters like you. Remember – NPG receives absolutely no government funding of any kind. We rely entirely on you – your loyal dedication and generous financial support – to continue our critical mission. We appreciate your activism, and your ongoing support of NPG.

Thank you again for for your loyal support in the fight for America’s future!