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President Trump on Wednesday will use the bully pulpit to rally support for tough immigration legislation, a day after he was forced to watch the Senate pull the plug on a healthcare reform bill that Trump has sought since his election.

Trump will meet at the White House with victims of crimes committed by illegal immigrants, in a bid to boost two bills that the House is expected to pass Thursday before lawmakers leave for the July 4 break. The bills are aimed at thwarting "sanctuary cities" that refuse to cooperate with federal officials on immigration and imposing tougher penalties against deported criminals who re-enter the United States.

Trump has spoken out often as a candidate and as president about the need for tougher policies against illegal immigrant criminals.

In February, he brought victims of illegal immigrants to Congress as guests for his first remarks to joint session of Congress. He set up a new office in the Department of Homeland Security to help victims of these crimes.

"We are providing a voice to those who have been ignored by our media and silenced by special interests," he said in his joint session speech. "Joining us in the audience tonight are four very brave Americans whose government failed them."

On Wednesday, he'll draw attention to the issue once more by meeting immigration crime victims at the White House as part of an effort to create the semblance of legislative momentum on one of his goals.

Trump was not happy Tuesday after he watched the Senate buckle and call for a delay of several weeks before calling up a bill to partially repeal Obamacare. He called in every Republican senator to the White House and warned that the GOP was at risk of losing its majority unless it found a way to move on the complicated issue.

"He was encouraging us to figure out a way forward and kind of the cost of failure, of what it would mean not to get it done," Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said.

Trump's job for the rest of the week will be much easier, as the two immigration bills he'll support will get votes in the House and will pass easily thanks to the GOP's majority there. They're also related to a bill that passed in the House in the last Congress under former President Barack Obama, who was never going to sign them into law.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said Trump is the big difference this year when it comes to their passage into law.

"The holdup has been getting a president of the United States who would sign this bill into law," he said of the failed attempt last year.

The first bill up on Thursday will be the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act, a bill aimed at discouraging the formation of sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with the federal government on immigration.

Goodlatte's bill would withhold some federal grants to jurisdictions that prohibit their officers from communicating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and require illegal immigrants convicted of dangerous crimes to be detained during removal proceedings.

The legislation would also permit lawsuits by victims of crime against jurisdictions that practice sanctuary city policies.

The second bill is Kate's Law, which would impose tougher penalties against deported felons who return to the United States. The bill is named after Kate Steinle, who was killed by an illegal immigrant who had been deported five times.

"We owe it to the families of those who lost loved ones to take action to prevent these horrible crimes," Goodlatte said last week as his bills were being teed up for a vote. "They have waited far too long."

Original post:
Trump to rally Congress on immigration after healthcare setback - Washington Examiner

Six American families whose relatives have been killed by illegal immigrants announced Tuesday the formation of a victims advocacy group, responding to what they see as indifference among elected officials to the dangers of illegal alien crime.

The members of Advocates for Victims of Illegal Alien Crime (AVIAC) say they are joining together in order to provide a support network for other families and to educate the public on the effects of lax immigration enforcement. The nonprofit organization plans to lobby Congress on a wide range of illegal immigration bills, including measures to punish sanctuary cities and provide funding for President Donald Trumps proposed border wall. (RELATED:WH: Signing Anti-Illegal Immigration Bills Is A Priority)

In an emotional ceremony at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., mothers and fathers recounted stories of how their children were slain. Many laid blame for the killings at the feet of government officials, who they said have pursued sanctuary city policies in order to score political points.

My son is dead because politicians in local jurisdictions have put illegal aliens ahead of Americans, said Maureen Maloney, whose son Matthew was killed in Massachusetts in 2011, when an illegal alien ran him over in a hit-and-run incident.

My sons killer had a lengthy criminal record, and with each offense only received a slap on the wrist from lenient judges, and local law enforcement was prohibited from communicating with ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement], she added. (RELATED:Nashville City Council Passes Bill Stopping Assistance To Feds On Immigration)

Iowa Republican Steve King, one of Congress most strident immigration hawks, praised the creation of AVIAC, saying that it will prod Congress to restore the rule of law to the U.S. immigration system.By documenting crimes committed by illegal immigrants, AVIAC will help build a strong database, so America understands the price Americans have paid for the failure to enforce immigration law, King said during introductory remarks at the AVIAC launch event.

In addition to support from King, AVIAC also has a willing ally in the White House. The groups formation comes after Trump authorized the creation of Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE), an office within the Department of Homeland Security that provides support to the families of victims of removable criminal aliens. AVIAC co-founder and vice president Mary Ann Mendoza was invited to attend Trumps signing of executive orders on immigration enforcement in January, and she was present at DHS Secretary John Kellys announcement of the VOICE office in April.

The families of AVIAC were encouraged by Trumps tough rhetoric on illegal immigration during the campaign, especially his promises to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and to pull funding from cities that dont cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. His stance was a welcome change from former administrations who had not been doing that, Mendoza told The Daily Caller News Foundation.

Mendoza, whose son was killed by a drunk driving illegal alien on Mothers Day 2014, believes AVIAC is needed because there has been a backlash from the media and some politicians to the Trump administrations crackdown on illegal immigration.

We are trying to get Americans to back our president up, she told TheDCNF.

Members of AVIAC say shining a light on illegal alien crime is not intended to demonize all immigrants, as some critics have alleged, but rather to draw attention to the public safety problems caused by criminal aliens.

The amount [of crime] that happens on a daily basis will stagger the American public when we start to get this information out there, Mendoza told reporters at the National Press Club. Its time for American victims to be more important to their fellow Americans than illegal aliens that our in our country. Its time to to stand up for your fellow Americans.

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Families Launch Advocacy Group For Victims Of Illegal Alien Crime - The Daily Caller

Mr. Trump and his staff played a critical role in persuading House Republicans to pass health care legislation in May, with the president personally calling dozens of wavering House members. But the Trump teams heavy-handed tactics have been ineffective in the Senate, and White House officials determined that deploying Vice President Mike Pence, a former congressman with deep ties to many in the Senate, was a better bet than unleashing Mr. Trump on the half-dozen Republicans who will determine the fate of the Senate bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

Mr. Trump, who is fond of telling friends he is a closer, became more involved over the past few days, reaching out to a few reluctant conservatives like Senators Mike Lee of Utah, Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky, who emerged from an Oval Office meeting on Monday saying he was more optimistic about getting to a yes.

The White House has been very involved in these discussions, Mr. McConnell said in announcing that a vote on the bill was postponed until after the Fourth of July recess. Theyre very anxious to help.

Yet over the past few weeks, the Senate Republican leadership has made it known that it would much rather negotiate with Mr. Pence than a president whose candidacy many did not even take seriously during the 2016 primaries. And some of the White Houses efforts have clearly been counterproductive.

Over the weekend, Mr. McConnell made clear his unhappiness to the White House after a super PAC aligned with Mr. Trump started an ad campaign against Senator Dean Heller, Republican of Nevada, after he said last week that he opposed the health care bill.

The majority leader already rankled by Mr. Trumps tweets goading him to change Senate rules to scuttle Democratic filibusters called the White House chief of staff, Reince Priebus, to complain that the attacks were beyond stupid, according to two Republicans with knowledge of the tense exchange.

Mr. McConnell, who has been toiling for weeks, mostly in private, to put together a measure that would satisfy hard-liners and moderates, told Mr. Priebus in his call that the assault by the group, America First, not only jeopardized the bills prospects but also imperiled Mr. Hellers already difficult path to re-election.

Mr. McConnell and several other Republican senators expressed their irritation about the anti-Heller campaign during the White House meeting, according to two people, one of them a senator, who were present.

The move against Mr. Heller had the blessing of the White House, according to an official with America First, because Mr. Trumps allies were furious that the senator would side with Nevadas governor, Brian Sandoval, a Republican who accepted the Medicaid expansion under the health law and opposes the Republican overhaul, in criticizing the bill.

According to the senator, the president laughed good-naturedly at the complaint and signaled that he had received the message.

A few hours later, America First announced it was pausing its advertising assault against Mr. Heller, insisting it was doing so because of his willingness to come to the White House meeting with Mr. Trump.

America First was founded by a group of Mr. Trumps loyalists many of them with deep connections to Mr. Pence, including Nick Ayers, a Republican consultant who is regarded as the vice presidents top political adviser. The group compared Mr. Heller to Representative Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, and vowed a seven-figure advertising campaign against him.

Mr. Heller, the only Senate Republican who will face voters next year in a state carried by Hillary Clinton in 2016, is the top target for Democrats facing a Senate map with few opportunities in 2018. And there were already seven groups a mix of health care advocacy organizations and more partisan Democratic efforts on the air in Nevada assailing the Republican health care overhaul, according to a Republican ad buyer tracking the ad traffic.

Neither Mr. McConnells office nor his top outside political advisers were warned about an impending attack on one of their most endangered incumbents. They didnt check in with anybody, said Josh Holmes, Mr. McConnells former chief of staff. There was no clearing of channels, no heads-up, nothing.

Republican senators across the ideological spectrum have indicated their unease with the health bill. But Mr. Trump has few ties with the group, and several Republicans who remain on the fence have tangled with Mr. Trump, either during the presidential campaign or since.

Top Trump lieutenants like Stephen K. Bannon, his chief strategist, who lobbied members on the House bill, have been all but sidelined. Mr. Priebus has also played a much diminished role.

Mr. Pence has been far more active in seeking out Republican senators. Seema Verma, Mr. Pences former adviser in the Indiana Statehouse and now a top administration health care official, has also been trying to reassure senators that their states will have flexibility on Medicaid under the bill, while Mr. Pences former chief of staff, Marc Short, now the White House legislative affairs director, has been quarterbacking the effort from his hideaway in the Capitol.

Until Tuesdays meeting at the White House, Mr. Trump had spoken with only a few members of the Senate, according to an administration official. The pace was nothing like the dozens of calls he made to help pass the Houses health bill, aides said.

A senator who supports the bill left the meeting at the White House with a sense that the president did not have a grasp of some basic elements of the Senate plan and seemed especially confused when a moderate Republican complained that opponents of the bill would cast it as a massive tax break for the wealthy, according to an aide who received a detailed readout of the exchange.

Mr. Trump said he planned to tackle tax reform later, ignoring the repeals tax implications, the staff member added.

After the meeting, Mr. Trump played the role of cheerleader on Twitter, encouraging his weary Republican allies to keep working.

I just finished a great meeting with the Republican Senators concerning HealthCare, he wrote. They really want to get it right, unlike OCare!

A version of this article appears in print on June 28, 2017, on Page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: Trump Steps In With Late Pitch To Wary Senate.

More:
On Senate Health Bill, Trump Falters in the Closer's Role - New York Times

Plus: Elegant with an edge

By Stephanie Davis and Chad Oliver

Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen dine at the Mucky Duck with owner LuAnn Martin.

It may be easier to broker a Middle East peace deal than to walk in and immediately score a table in season at one of our areas favorite beachfront restaurants. U.S. Secret Service learned that during Vice President Mike Pences April trip to Sanibel and Captiva islands. Agents showed up to The Mucky Duck wearing fishing and polo shirts and informed the hostess that a VIP wanted to sit for dinner at 5:30. Im so sorry, I cant do 5:30, General Manager Regina Burnette replied. I just dont do favors. She says shes heard all the lines: Everybody tries to pull one on you. We just dont do that. The restaurant doesnt do reservations. People start lining up at 4:30 to add their names on a coveted list for one of The Mucky Ducks 21 tables. Regina informed them she could definitely do 6 p.m. As agents relayed the message back to the VP, the restaurant staffers figured out their VIP wasnt simply a couple of vacationers trying to pull a fast one. One agent put his finger to his ear and I saw a gun, Regina told me. My hostess said, I told you! Now, the agents earlier actions made sense.

Agents were in plain clothes, buying beers to blend in, and they were dumping them, she remembered. A few minutes later, Pence arrived to an armed U.S. Coast Guard crew standing watch on the Gulf of Mexico and agents surrounding The Mucky Duck property. She obliged all of the Secret Services security requests. Pence sat away from a window seat; agents picked out his glassware and watched in the kitchen while his food was being prepared. The former Indiana governor ordered flounder meuniere with fries and a Buckler non-alcoholic beer to wash it down. He spent time taking selfies with people, and a long-time Mucky Duck server got to see a different side to the second-in-command. I was honored [to serve Pence and his wife]. He showed me pictures of the familys two cats and their bunny. His wife noticed I was from Kansas, recalled LuAnn Martin.

Had I known it was him, I would have given him special treatment, Regina said with a laugh while retelling her latest run-in with celebrity. Shes seen more than her fair share of professional athletes come through The Mucky Duck, and there must be something about the salty air that draws politicians. Al Gore has visited, and Walter Mondale is a regular. Add Pence to the list. I bet next time Secret Service will call ahead

Summer rains will bring big changes inside the NBC2 Weather Center. Longtime early morning riser Haley Webb is getting out of the TV news biz. She brought her meteorological skills to Waterman Broadcasting in 2005, but in the spring of this year she made the decision to move to Tennessee to join in her familys business ventures. Viewers will certainly miss her warm personality and trusted forecast. Haleys replacement is another one of my long-time colleagues. Jason Dunning always has a smile on his face and a positive can-do attitude, making him a great co-worker and outstanding on-air talent, wrote Vice President of News Darrel Lieze-Adams in an email to the entire company. This Georgia Bulldog will miss taking jabs at Jasons Florida Gators during the 11 a.m., noon and 4 p.m. broadcasts. Like the Southwest Florida sun theyve spent years tracking, both Haley and Jason have bright futures.

The hotter temperatures and sultrier nights may have us fanning ourselves with the nearest piece of paper we can find or hibernating in the air conditioning more, but summer also means we have our little corner of paradise back to ourselves again. Traffic has calmed down and so have our nerves; Publix and Costco are easier to navigate, which means we can breathe easier. Finally, with the social swirl easing into calmer waters, we can reflect on some of the buzz around town.

For instance, its been tabled until August, but there was a lot of commotion in downtown Fort Myers when City Council proposed to increase density and development in downtown and mid-town, which means the sky would (literally) be the limit for builders. However, folks living in and around the River District collectively said, Not in my backyard. Itll be interesting to see how this one plays outdowntown Fort Myers could end up looking more like downtown Sarasota, but is that really such a bad thing? At least they have a Whole Foods.

One project thats definitely getting off the ground is Luminary Hotel & Co., a high-end hotel with 12 stories and 237 guest rooms next to Harborside Event Center and overlooking the Caloosahatchee River. Picture a street-side diner, a rooftop bar and a culinary theater. Something tells me that downtown might be getting more weekend visits from Naples revelers now that theyll have a waterfront hotel destination. We hear that the Luminary will be complete in early 2019.

When starting new projects, creativity is key. And so when the fundraising pros at LARC, the nonprofit that serves individuals with developmental disabilities, started planning their April 13 fundraiser, they called upon some of the most creative minds in town: theater folk. It all started at a luncheon, where Florida Repertory Theatre board member Sunny Lubner and actress/directors Andi Horowitz, Karen Goldberg and Anne Dodd put their heads together and came up with Hollywood Heist, a mystery-themed event that centered around a gorgeous custom-made necklace created by generous jewelry designer extraordinaire Mark Loren. One lucky guest would win the sparkling piece, but only after discovering clues from a fabulous cast of characters with names like Fluffy Lovelace, Abel Cain, Shirley Will, Ginger Knockers and more. Charlotte Wagner had fun helping to write the script, along with Angela Katz of LARC and anybody else who threw in some fab ideas. Coolest of all, the heist took place in a stunning over-the-top 13,000-square-foot mansion in Gulf Harbor. Says Sunny, Socially, it was the event of the season! Everyone there just loved trying to solve the mysteryI played Dame Hildegarde and it was a delight. Its wonderful when creative minds come together for such a good cause. Angela tells me that LARC was so thrilled with the soiree that it will definitely be happening again next year. We cant wait to see what Sunny and company come up with for 2018.

Every Ritz-Carlton guest room around the world will now feature the work of Naples jeweler Mara Labell Muller (pictured). The company chose her elegant with an edge designs for The Shops at The Ritz-Carlton Catalog. Maras high-end eye sees beyond jewelry. When shes not designing, shes working luxury real estate in Naples with Gulf Coast International Properties.

A team of creatives have begun planning for the Arts for ACT Fine Art Auction to benefit the Abuse Counseling and Treatment Center. Philanthropist, community volunteer and expert party planner Marc Collins has been named honorary chair of the to-do, which is set for Nov. 11. Theres a change in venue, thoughbecause Harborside will be undergoing renovations, Arts for ACT will happen at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort & Spa in Estero. With this move, Marc says, We can expand our reach a bit more into south Fort Myers and Bonita, Marc says. He also hinted at a possible themePurple Rainwhich, he said, could mean whatever guests want it to mean. As for me, I think I need to start shopping for a positively phenomenal purple gown.

Hosted by The Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club to benefit Fun Time Early Childhood Academy

Masa's last day is May 6, and two downtown fixtures are among the dearly departed as well.

Wood tones bring a rustic feel to this cozy beach cottage in Old Naples.

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Scene & Heard: VP Mike Pence on Sanibel - Gulfshore Life

WASHINGTON

Donald Trump and Mike Pence are the most effective pitchers in the Republican bullpen. The president has the starpower and gets the headlines, but the vice president's emerging role could be just as valuable.

Trump is the flame-throwing closer with one pitch: his signature sharp rhetoric that metaphorically is his political fastball. But Pence's recent public appearances showcase his role as the in-the-trenches long reliever who huddles with GOP members and reassures key constituent groups, and could be even more valuable.

The pair's recent schedules show a stark contrast that brings their roles into focus.

Trump on Friday entered the ornate East Room of the White House to sign a bill tailored to help military veterans get better care. In doing so, the commander in chief claimed a major personal achievement. It was carried live by cable news networks.

On Wednesday night, Trump was in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he, for over an hour, attacked his foes, made bold promises and listed the achievements of what he views as the most productive presidency at this point in U.S. history. The campaign-style rally lit Twitter on fire, made the front pages of all the major newspapers, and is still being replayed in soundbyte form on every network.

The same cannot be said of Pence's recent public speeches.

The vice president quietly goes about the methodical business of delivering Trump's often searing populist message and governing vision in a friendlier, more conservative package.

That certainly was the case Friday, when Air Force Two landed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where Pence addressed a conference put on by Focus on the Family, the self-described "global Christian ministry" that provides "help and resources for couples to build healthy marriages that reflect God's design."

It's just the kind of conservative group with which Trump, a thrice-married Manhattanite who appeared often on Howard Stern's then-raunchy radio show and has made caught-on-tape remarks that made many religious people cringe, has an unlikely and shaky alliance.

The same cannot be said of Pence, who is very much at home with Christian conservatives.

The previous day, there was Pence, addressing a conference of contractors and builders in Washington. And he hailed them in terms that neatly aligned with core Republican principles.

"You champion fiscal responsibility and individual freedom," Pence said. "And I promise you, the American people are grateful that you are a champion for American values.

As he typically does when addressing an issue-specific group, the vice president a career politician and Washington veteran makes clear its importance to the Trump-Pence agenda.

"This president has promised, simply put, in his words, to rebuild America," Pence said in his radio-trained voice. "And it's businesses like yours that are going to play such a leading role in doing that. Ahead of schedule and under budget, right?"

The same was true on Tuesday, when the former Indiana governor and congressman spoke to a National Association of Manufacturers summit, just the kind of voters that went for the Trump-Pence ticket in November in key Rust Belt states that helped put the GOP ticket over the top.

"Since your founding more than 120 years ago, the National Association of Manufacturers has fought tirelessly for the time-honored American principles of free enterprise, competitiveness, individual liberty, and equal opportunity," Pence said.

"And not only do you advocate for the businesses in this room, you really advocate for America itself. American manufacturers are the beating heart of our national life and always will be," the vice president said to applause before delivering the line designed to tie the group directly to his and the president's agenda ahead of their expected 2020 re-election bid.

"To borrow a phrase," Pence said, "manufacturers make America and they make America great."

Michael Steel, a former aide to 2016 GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush, said Pence is a "natural choice for such targeted outreach" because he possesses "a deep background dealing with a range of individual interest groups across a spectrum of issues."

Jerri Ann Henry, a GOP political strategist, said the vice president "provides a calming presence to groups who are inundated with speculation about Trump's plans and loyalties. Pence calms those concerns."

"He has a lot of credibility with some of the hard-right groups like Focus on the Family, credibility Trump doesn't have even if those groups supported him," Henry said. "Through all of the chaos of this administration, I think it is safe to say Pence is without question the most valuable player."

Read more:
Mike Pence works the trenches - MyAJC