Kate’s Law pending

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To the Editor:
In a recent editorial, mention was made of the “isolated tragedy” involving Kate Steinle in San Francisco, a sanctuary city. On July 1, 2015, Kate was walking on a pier in San Francisco with her father when she was shot and killed by an illegal alien who had been convicted of seven felonies. He had been deported five times. Kate’s law, now pending in Congress, would place a five-year prison term on a person who returns to the U.S. after being deported.
This is not an isolated incident. In July of this year, a drug-impaired illegal alien fled the scene of a hit- and-run accident that hospitalized two children. This man had been deported six times. Another illegal alien, also a convicted felon, shot a 21-year-old convenience store clerk named Grant in the face, killing him during a robbery over a pack of cigarettes. This occurred in April of this year. This is from a column appearing in the Arizona Republic newspaper shortly after the above incident occurred: “Since Grant’s death we’ve learned that 121 undocumented immigrants who were released while awaiting deportation after committing crimes were later charged with homicides between 2010 and 2014.”
While I truly believe most of the illegal immigrants coming to the United States are here to better their lives, it is naive and dangerous to ignore the fact that criminals are also entering and reentering the country. Kate’s law would address the issue of people returning to the U.S. after being deported.
Randy Groepper
Iowa City


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