Republican senators hint it is time sanctuary cities impeding ICE be defunded

Republican senators told Fox News Digital that they are fed up with liberal sanctuary cities like Los Angeles attempting to impede federal immigration authorities from enforcing the law, some suggesting that it is time the legislative branch intervened to pull their funding.

“We have to say, ‘Enough is enough,’” said Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala. “I don’t understand why we would continue to give federal dollars to someone who doesn’t abide by federal law. I mean, think about that. That is very simple.”

Speaking with Fox News Digital in the Senate office building halls, Britt said, “There’s been no more-litigated issue over the last four years than the millions and millions of illegal migrants coming across our border.”

“What a sanctuary city says is, ‘You can commit a crime, we will allow for lawlessness, and we will not turn you over to the federal authorities.’ I mean, think about that. That is absolute insanity, and we’re not going to stand for it anymore,” she said.

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“We have enabled that kind of bad behavior for too long,” said Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio. “Look, the reality is, to use the term for my colleagues, ‘Nobody is above the law.’ So, if you have a mayor or county executive or a governor, whoever you want to say, that’s not following federal law, that’s completely unacceptable. And the tool that we have here is federal funding.”

“I’ve called for that in my campaign, and I think all Republicans, we should stick firm on that,” he added.

Meanwhile, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., simply told Fox News Digital that sanctuary cities blocking immigration “shouldn’t” receive federal funding.

“I mean, first off, if you’re a sanctuary city, you’re not doing the right thing for your citizens. You’re not keeping them safe,” said Scott. “I think all of us are really frustrated because we don’t have an immigration system that works. There’s people who want to come to our country legally and work in our country and go home. That’s what we ought to be focused on, how do we improve that, but make sure that if you’re not vetted, you shouldn’t be able to come into this country.”

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On the other side of the aisle, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told Fox News Digital that sanctuary city officials not cooperating with ICE and federal authorities “is not an issue in Virginia, because . . . I’m not aware of a sanctuary city in Virginia.”

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, responded to Fox News Digital by saying, “I don’t have any comment on that, I’m focused right now on what’s going on in the Middle East.”

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said, “I think that everybody should follow the law” or “accept the consequences.”

“I can’t tell you that I know legally what are the consequences that a community deliberately disobeying something from the federal government. But whatever those consequences are, if a community makes that decision, then it has to bear the consequences,” Cassidy added.

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Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Tenn., said that sanctuary policies “led in many ways to these LA riots, that the L.A. police weren’t willing to help when our ICE agents were in trouble.”

“What we cannot tolerate is local officials impeding ICE officers from doing their job, and that’s exactly what’s happening in some of these sanctuary cities,” said Marshall. “So, if that means the power of the purse, then so be it. But whatever we do, President Trump took an oath, I took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution to make all of us safe.”