Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn announced he and three other Republicans (John Barasso, Ron Johnson, Thom Tillis) are introducing a border security bill Thursday that would:
- Expand resources to our borders;
- Pressure sanctuary cities to cooperate with federal and law enforcement authorities, or else have federal funds withheld;
- End catch-and-release, a policy that has allowed immigrants caught in the U.S. without proper documentation to live freely;
- Increase penalties for drug trafficking offenses.
Why now: Johnson said "Cornyn is highly interested in fixing our…legal immigration system and the way you have to do that is you have to secure the border." This comes on the heels of Senators David Perdue and Tom Cotton's introduction of a bill that would curb legal immigration to the U.S.
Cornyn's definition of a sanctuary city is "a city that does not cooperate with federal law enforcement authorities."