{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=5F12CE65-B042-40A1-90FF-2255F94EB643", "ICYMI: Graham Pushes Legislation to Abolish Sanctuary Cities, Blocked by Democrats", "2026-02-13", "2026", "2026-02", "Republican", "Senate", "SC", "Lindsey Graham", "G000359", "www.lgraham.senate.gov", "graham", "https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) yesterday took to the Senate floor to call for immediate passage of his legislation that would abolish the practice of sanctuary cities and states once and for all. Unfortunately, Graham\u2019s bill was blocked by Senator Alex Padilla (D-California) who argued sanctuary jurisdictions are not a problem for the country.\n\nSenator Graham has repeatedly asserted that sanctuary city policies are an underlying cause of illegal immigration as well as the unrest surrounding the enforcement of immigration laws by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). To remedy this situation, Graham\u2019s legislation would impose criminal penalties on state and local officials who in defiance of the law refuse to turn over illegal immigrants to federal agents who have been charged with or convicted of a crime.\n\nOn sanctuary cities being at the root of illegal immigration:\n\n\u201cUntil you change the policies, you never stop illegal immigration. If there are 12 states \u2026 that have sanctuary status, [illegal immigrants will] keep coming. All they got to do is get to one of these states. It\u2019s magnets for future illegal immigration, it breaks down law and order, and it needs to stop.\u201d https://youtu.be/8v3J9BAfTvs?si=E6Q3vV7u_GcidRaX&t=375\n\nOn Graham\u2019s proposal to prosecute defiant state and local officials:\n\n\u201cI have legislation\u2026 [that] says if a state or local official does not turn over to the federal government an illegal immigrant who\u2019s \u2026 been convicted or facing criminal charges, then that state or local official can go to jail. You have an obligation under federal law to turn these people over.\u201d https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v3J9BAfTvs&t=267s\n\nDuring his speech, Graham slammed his Democratic colleagues for their complicity in the invasion of the country by millions of illegal immigrants during the Biden Administration. He criticized them for refusing to acknowledge the victims of Biden\u2019s open border policies, such as Laken Riley.\n\nOn Democratic Senators\u2019 responsibility for the Biden Border Crisis:\n\n\u201cEvery Democratic senator turned the other way during the four years of Biden. You didn\u2019t do anything to bring reason to chaos. How many of you spoke about Laken Riley? \u2026 How many thousands of people have been raped and abused, stolen and mistreated because of this invasion of illegal immigrants from virtually all over the world?... You never talk about the victims, [you] just want to talk about TV and Minnesota.\u201d https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v3J9BAfTvs&t=214s\n\n\u201cIf you want to have immigration policed, our Democratic friends will never be there for you. They turned their back on you and your family and allowed this nation to be invaded by 10, 15, 20 million people. Who the hell knows?\u201d https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v3J9BAfTvs&t=356s\n\nAfter Senator Padilla moved to stop Senator Graham\u2019s legislation from advancing, Graham reiterated his tenacity on this issue. He has refused to back down and remains persistent in his effort to permanently end the practices observed in sanctuary jurisdictions.\n\nOn Graham\u2019s commitment to fully halt the policies of sanctuary cities and states:\n\n\u201cNo matter how this ends, I am going to stay on this til I can\u2019t stay on it anymore. I want a simple vote as a United States senator to have a debate as to whether or not sanctuary city policy \u2026 is bad for America or good for America. I think it\u2019s terrible for America. And those engaging sanctuary city practices, you\u2019re hurting the other 38 states, you\u2019re creating chaos for your country and you should be held accountable.\u201d https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v3J9BAfTvs&t=1115s\n\nClick here to watch Graham\u2019s full remarks\n\n####\n\nClick play to view the video or follow this link\n\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v3J9BAfTvs", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T17:26:08Z"]], "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://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=5F12CE65-B042-40A1-90FF-2255F94EB643"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.523829996585846, "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"}