GOP pushes to end sanctuary policies with bill to punish police who refuse to help ICE

WASHINGTON (TNND) — They’ve long been a target in President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown: policies in 12 states and more than 200 cities that make it easier for undocumented immigrants to remain in the country and which also block local law enforcement from working with federal immigration officials.

GOP lawmakers are hoping to force some major changes, with legislation called the “End Sanctuary Cities Act of 2026, ”which seeks to prosecute governors, mayors and local police who refuse to cooperate with federal immigration officials. (TNND)

At a Senate Budget Committee Hearing on Tuesday, Sen. Lindsey Graham, the Committee Chairman, said, “We believe it is endangering public safety. 10,000 criminals released by sanctuary policies who went on to be arrested for additional crimes. They should’ve been turned over they weren’t.”

GOP lawmakers are hoping to force some major changes, with legislation called the “End Sanctuary Cities Act of 2026, ”which seeks to prosecute governors, mayors and local police who refuse to cooperate with federal immigration officials.

“You’ve got to make it so that those who hang onto these illegal immigrants and defines a federal law that they feel the pain not just the public,” Graham said.

Republicans cited examples like the case of Stephanie Minter, a 41-year-old mother stabbed to death by Abdul Jalloh, an illegal immigrant from Sierra Leone with more than 30 prior arrests, including rape and assault, but whose ICE detainer was blocked by Fairfax County, Virginia.

“How many more Americans need to die at the hands of illegal aliens released by sanctuary jurisdictions?” said Chad Wolf, Former Acting Homeland Security Secretary, who testified at the hearing.

Meanwhile, Democrats slammed Immigration and Customs Enforcement for tactics that they say have resulted in the death of three Americans, comparing them to the secret police.

“They show up unmarked vans, unmarked uniforms, no judicial warrant knock down doors without a judicial warrant, grab people, detain them, and often prevent them from having communication with family or lawyers,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley, D, Oregon.

For now, it’s hard to see the end of the sanctuary cities act getting enough votes to pass.

But Trump has also been putting pressure on, with threats to withhold federal funding to sanctuary states as well, as the divide grows over how to enforce immigration law in America.