{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://budd.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=171", "BUDD REACTS TO KATE STEINLE VERDICT", "2017-12-07", "2017", "2017-12", "Republican", "House", "NC", "Ted Budd", "B001305", "budd.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Any country where the Kate Steinle tragedy can happen is not a country with a sane immigration policy.  Kate Steinle proves that we are not there yet.\r\n          share:\r\n          f \r\n          t \r\n        \r\n      \r\n      WASHINGTON -- US Representative Ted Budd (R-NC) delivered the following remarks in response to the Kate Steinle case. See Congressman Ted Budd\u2019s remarks here and below:\r\nMr. Speaker, on July 1st 2015, Kate Steinle was walking with her father on a pier in San Francisco. \u00a0While she was on the pier, she was shot to death by an illegal immigrant who had been deported five times. \u00a0He had been convicted of seven felonies. \u00a0Before he murdered Kate Steinle, the federal government had asked the city to turn him over so he could be deported again. \u00a0The city, following its policy of not cooperating with federal immigration officials, released him from jail. \u00a0He murdered Kate Steinle three months later.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nA few days ago her killer was declared \u201cnot guilty\u201d by a San Francisco jury. \u00a0For now, there is no justice for Kate Steinle.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nThere is a question in this, though for all of us. \u00a0It\u2019s a question we should ask whenever we\u2019re confronted by a terrorist attack conducted by asylees, like the Boston Bombing, or the San Bernardino massacre where one of the attackers, was in the United States on a K-1 visa.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nWhy was this person in our country? \u00a0In the case of Kate Steinle, we now know exactly why. \u00a0The City of San Francisco\u2019s policy. \u00a0The city is an accomplice to Kate Steinle\u2019s death. \u00a0Pure and simple.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nThey have defied and continue to defy federal law. \u00a0\u00a0They defied it in general, by refusing to cooperate with federal immigration authorities as a blanket policy. And they defied it in the specific case that led to the death of Kate Steinle.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nThis is a radical policy and I don\u2019t use that word lightly. \u00a0You have an illegal immigrant, convicted of multiple crimes in addition to coming here illegally five times. \u00a0The federal government tries to send the guy home a sixth time. \u00a0The city lets him go because they ignore the law. \u00a0He murders someone.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nThe results of this city\u2019s extremism is a shattered family. \u00a0The result is a father who will never see his daughter again. \u00a0The result is a mother who has to face the worst nightmare of every parent. \u00a0These are the terrible facts of this tragedy, Mr. Speaker, and there is nothing we can do in this body to change them.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nWhat we can do is move forward towards an immigration policy that is based on sound principles. \u00a0For the radicals this will be a radical change. \u00a0For everyday Americans this is common sense.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nOn this front, there are three fundamental principles to a sane immigration policy:\r\nFirst, Americans have the right to determine who becomes a citizen through laws. \u00a0It\u2019s right there in the Constitution. Article I, Section 8, provides Congress with the explicit authority to regulate naturalization\r\nSecond, who comes here should be in the best interest of Americans. \u00a0The number of known criminals we need to be letting in is zero. \u00a0The number of people who cannot read and cannot speak English we need to be admitting is zero. \u00a0The number of radical Islamists, of drug addicts we should be letting in--zero. \u00a0We are ready and willing to welcome hardworking immigrants who are ready to pay taxes, to follow our laws, and to build our country together.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nThird, we have the right to enforce our choices through immigration laws. \u00a0We should stop sanctuary cities, and enforce sanctions against those who hire illegal labor. \u00a0We should build President Trump\u2019s border wall, a policy that has worked unbelievably well in Israel. \u00a0Most people agree that law enforcement is an effective deterrent against committing crimes. \u00a0Illegal immigration is no different.\r\nMr. Speaker, according the Pew Research Center, the population of illegal immigrants in North Carolina, has gone up by 14,000 percent, from 25,000 people in 1990 to 350,000 people as of 2014. \u00a0We have got to get this under control. Any country where the Kate Steinle tragedy can happen is not a country with a sane immigration policy.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\r\nI hope we never again have to ask the question after a tragedy, \u201cwhy is this person in our country?\u201d because I hope the answer will be widely known: that we have a reasonable immigration system that benefits all Americans and does everything within reason not to bring in people who will hurt us.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nKate Steinle proves that we are not there yet. \u00a0But I believe we could get there one day.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nMr Speaker, I yield back.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://budd.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=171"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5419838018715382, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}