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By Sen. John BoozmanGuest column

President Trump called on the Department of Homeland Security to redouble its efforts to enforce immigration laws. It comes as no surprise that this has resulted in increased arrests of individuals in the country illegally and historically low levels of illegal border crossings. On our southwest border, there has been a 64 percent decrease since May 2016. Having consequences for breaking our laws is a deterrent.

This is a welcome change from the policies of the previous administration that allowed federal immigration laws to be ignored and limited the crimes for which a non-citizen could be held accountable. Undermining our immigration laws is a threat to the safety of American families and communities. Unfortunately, its become too common with "sanctuary cities" purposefully protecting illegal immigrants, including those who are violent and dangerous criminals. Congress is rightfully taking action to force compliance with the laws.

The Senates Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act would restrict federal funding from sanctuary communities that fail to comply with the law in an effort to encourage them to eliminate these dangerous policies and allow local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration officials.

Kates Law is legislation named for Kate Steinle, a young woman who was murdered in San Francisco by an illegal immigrant who was supposed to be behind bars. The bill would establish a mandatory minimum sentence of five years for illegal immigrants who are found guilty of re-entering the U.S. after being convicted of an aggravated felony or being convicted of having illegally re-entered the U.S. twice before.

Im a proud co-sponsor of these bills and was pleased to see that the House of Representatives recently approved them. I encourage my Senate colleagues to follow suit.

As chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, Im working closely with the Department of Homeland Security to ensure it has the funding and manpower it needs to enforce our laws, decrease border crossings and protect our Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers.

These agents undergo rigorous training to protect our borders. Earlier this year, I had an opportunity to experience some simulated real-life scenarios these agents face at a training facility in Harpers Ferry, W.Va. It is one of six Advanced Training Centers in the country that prepares agents for situations they could encounter on the job.

As we look for ways to improve border security with technology, barriers and infrastructure, its important that we provide CBP and ICE with the tools and resources they need to safeguard themselves and our country.

We are a nation of laws and its right that we hold those who break our laws accountable. I look forward to working with the president to enhance border security, ensure proper vetting for immigrants coming into our country and reforming our nations immigration policy.

Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., has represented Arkansas in the U.S. Senate since 2011. To participate in the Times Records Community Matters series, email Executive Editor Mardi Taylor, mtaylor@swtimes.com.

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Community Matters: Efforts help deter illegal immigration - Times Record

Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly speaks about immigration reform at a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Photo by REUTERS/Joshua Roberts.

WASHINGTON Warning of threats to public safety and national security, the Republican-led House on Thursday approved two bills to crack down on illegal immigration, a key priority for President Donald Trump.

One bill would strip federal dollars from self-proclaimed sanctuary cities that shield residents from federal immigration authorities, while a separate measure would stiffen punishments for people who re-enter the U.S. illegally.

The sanctuary measure was approved 228-195, while the bill to punish deportees was approved 257-167.

Trump often railed against illegal immigration during his presidential campaign, and his support for tougher immigration policies is crucial to his voting base. Trump met at the White House on Wednesday with more than a dozen people whose family members were killed by people in the country illegally, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions met with the families Thursday.

WATCH: Jeff Sessions speaks at DOJ hate crimes summit

One of the bills, known as Kates Law, would impose harsher prison sentences on deportees who re-enter the United States. The bill is named after 32-year old Kathryn Steinle, who was shot and killed in San Francisco in 2015 by a man who was in the country illegally. Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, who pleaded not guilty to the crime, had been released by sheriffs officials months earlier despite a request by immigration officials to keep him behind bars.

The second bill would bar states and localities that refuse to cooperate with immigration authorities from receiving certain Justice Department and Homeland Security grants, including some related to law enforcement and terrorism.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said the two bills would help avoid the kind of tragic circumstances that have totally involved the lives of the people who were at the White House speaking up for their loved ones.

The sanctuary measure follows a simple principle that if youre going to receive taxpayer dollars from the federal government to keep people safe, that youve got to follow the law and keep them safe, Goodlatte said.

Democrats said the bills were feel-good measures intended to make lawmakers look tough on crime.

READ MORE: Trump administration keeps DACA program, shields young immigrants from deportation

Were not doing bumper stickers here. We are doing laws, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif, said.

She and other Democrats said the sanctuary measure was about telling people how to police their cities and telling local officials that we in Washington, D.C., know better than you do.

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said he appreciates Congress effort to address the dangers of sanctuary cities and illegal immigrant offenders.

At a news conference at the Capitol with House Speaker Paul Ryan, Kelly said his agency will enforce the laws that are passed by Congress, adding, I am offended when members of this institution put pressure and often threaten me and my officers to ignore the laws they make.

A spokesman said later that Kelly will continue to push back against any attempt pressure, threat or otherwise to ignore the enforcement of immigration law.

Enforcement is not selective, occasional or arbitrary, its the law, spokesman David Lapan said.

READ MORE: President Trump urges passage of House immigration bills

The Justice Departments inspector general has identified California and major cities such as Chicago, New York and Philadelphia as locales with barriers to information-sharing among local police and immigration officials. The Trump administration warned nine jurisdictions in late April that they could lose coveted law enforcement grant money unless they document cooperation.

Sessions said Steinle would still be alive today if only the city of San Francisco had put the publics safety first. How many more Americans must die before we put an end to this madness?

Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., said Kates Law would not have had an impact on the Steinle case, noting that Steinle was killed in July 2015 by an immigrant who had been mistakenly released by the federal Bureau of Prisons.

The proposed bill would not have kept Kate Steinles killer off the streets, Gutierrez said. Instead, we are voting on a bill to put other people in different circumstances in jail for longer periods of time. It is a bait-and-switch strategy: Use a horrible tragedy to sell a policy that would not have prevented that death, so that you put more immigrants in jail for longer periods of time.

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An illegal immigrantis set to be awarded $190,000 from San Franciscoafter police turned him over to immigration authorities, which is a violation of the city's sanctuary policy.

Pedro Figueroa-Zarceno, who is fromEl Salvador and was living in the U.S. illegally, walked into a police station on December 2, 2015, to recover his stolen car. When he left the station, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) immediately took him into custody.

Figueroa-Zarceno recently reached the massive settlement agreement with the city attorney's office. The agreement must be approved by the city's Board of Supervisors.

Immigration advocateRoberto Hernandez joined Tucker Carlson tonight to debate the controversial payout.

Tucker argued it's "insane" that the city is payingHernandez because they actually enforced U.S. federal immigration law.

"You shouldn't pay a criminal for breaking the law," Tucker said. "And that's what San Francisco is doing."

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Hernandez said that San Francisco has a sanctuary policy because citizens and city leaders believe that the federal government's immigration policy has failed.

"In San Francisco, we are different. We are progressive. We think different. We're leaders when it comes to being humanitarians,"Hernandez said.

Tucker asked why San Francisco is willing to ignore federal law, but only for illegal immigrants.

"If I'm wanted for tax evasion in another state and the San Francisco police turn me over to the feds, why shouldn't I be able to sue the city of San Francisco for cooperating with the federal authorities?" he asked. "Why do only illegal aliens have this privilege in your city?"

Watch the debate above.

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Tucker on SF's $190K Payout to Illegal Immigrant: 'You Shouldn't Pay a Criminal for Breaking the Law' - Fox News Insider

A church in North Carolina has sheltered an illegal immigrant and her children, shielding her from arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)agents Friday.

Congregational United Church of Christ in Greensboro, N.C. began protectingMinerva Cisneros Garcia from deportation Wednesday, according to Winston-Salem Journal. Garcia received notice from ICE officials in May that they would no longer grant her a stay of removal and that she was required to show them a bus ticket to Mexico by Friday. Garcia initially rejected the idea of taking the churchs offer of sanctuary, but now resides therewith her two youngest sons.

ICE will not arrest and deport Garcia because of their policy of avoiding arrests in sensitive locations, which includes places of worship. Garcia has three sons, the youngest of which, ages 6 and 3, are U.S. citizens. Garcias oldest son, who is blind and aged 21, while not a citizen of the U.S. is protected under the Obama-era policy ofDeferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

The pastor of the church,Rev. Julie Peeples, notified ICE of the sanctuary they have provided to Garcia and her children. ICE has yet to respond at this time.

The church is one of several around the nation that hasself-declared as a sanctuary church, shielding illegal immigrants in their community from arrest and deportation for over a year.

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Church Blocks Deportation Of Illegal Immigrant - The Daily Caller

An illegal immigrant who found himself detained and turned over to federal immigration authorities is poised to collect $190,000 from the city of San Francisco, according to KPIX-5.

The TV station reported that city lawyers have agreed to pay the settlement to Pedro Figueroa-Zarceno, a native of El Salvador who sued, alleging the city violated its sanctuary policy by alerting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. The citys Board of Supervisors still must approve the deal, but there does not appear to be much opposition.

It is a powerful reminder that even as the House of Representatives on Thursday passed a pair of measures to crack down on sanctuary policies and increase penalties for repeat illegal immigrants with criminal records, progressive cities such asSan Francisco are zooming in the opposite direction.

"That is beyond backwards. That is perverse," said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies. "Talk about an incentive to come here illegally. I just can't wrap my head around that."

It is unclear how much San Francisco has paid on litigation costs associated with its sanctuary executive order. The Immigration Reform Law Institute, the legal arm of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, said the city denied its open records request on attorney-client grounds.

San Francisco adopted its sanctuary policy in 1989, becoming one of the first jurisdictions in the country to prohibit police from cooperating with federal officials on immigration enforcement.

Yet when Figueroa-Zarceno went to the police station in December 2015 to recover his stolen car, someone tipped off ICE. He found himself detained for two months, marked for deportation. Officials, in fact, had issued a civil deportation order back in 2005, according to KPIX.

Figueroa-Zarceno is fighting his deportation and has a hearing date in 2019, according to the TV station.

"There's an insanity in California that is just unfathomable."

KPIX also reported that the police department is promising "serious consequences" if it determines any officer violated policies and procedures. John Cot, a spokesman for San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, told the news outlet that sanctuary policies foster trust between law enforcement officers and residents.

"This proposed settlement is a fair resolution for all of the parties involved," he said.

Joseph Guzzardi, a spokesman for Californians for Population Stabilization, ripped San Francisco's decision to agree to a six-figure settlement with a man who is not even in the country legally.

"It just goes to show the extent to which San Francisco city officials are willing to go to support their own sanctuary policies," he said. "It's completely and totally an assault on taxpayers and not justifiable in any way."

David Cross, a spokesman for Oregonians for Immigration Reform, agreed.

"There's an insanity in California that is just unfathomable," he said.

The settlement even drew comments during the House debate over the immigration bills. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), who sponsored both bills, said it is disappointing San Francisco would pay an illegal immigrant considering the city was the location of the shooting death two years ago of tourist Kate Steinle, allegedly at the hands of another illegal immigrant.

"People who are murdered, people who are injured by people who are unlawfully present in the United States, should have their day in court with the city of San Francisco or anyplace else," he said.

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San Francisco Poised to Pay $190000 to Illegal Immigrant - LifeZette