House schedules vote on 'sanctuary cities' bill

The immigration debate, which has roiled the Republican 2016 presidential field, is coming to the House of Representatives this week.

House GOP leaders have scheduled a vote on legislation that withholds federal money for states or local governments that have policies that prohibit federal officials from enforcing immigration laws.

After Donald Trump, the billionaire businessman, made controversial comments about the danger posed by Mexican immigrants in announcing his candidacy other GOP candidates have been pressed about their own positions on how they would reform immigration laws.

The addition of the GOP bill to the voting schedule comes just weeks after Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, an undocumented immigrant with a felony record, killed Kate Steinle, a young woman in San Francisco. Lopez-Sanchez was released by city authorities after drug charges against him were dropped.

Trump quickly pointed to Steinle's death as evidence his focus on the threat posed by illegal immigration was on target.

San Francisco is one of dozens of local governments and states across the country with so-called \"sanctuary\" laws that order their employees not to cooperate with federal authorities who are attempting to enforce immigration laws.

California GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter introduced the \"Enforce the Law for Sanctuary Cities Act,\" the week after Steinle's death.

A spokesman for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who represents San Francisco, told CNN that she would oppose the measure.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the controversy on Tuesday and Jim Steinle, the father of Kate Steinle, is testifying, as well as the head of the U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement agency.

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