House passes Tancredo amendment establishing penalty for sanctuary cities

The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to withhold federal emergency services funding from canctuary cities that protect illegal immigrants. Congressman (and Presidential Candidate) Tom Tancredo of Colorado was sponsor of the amendment to the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill. He was elated by its passage.

Tancredo said the vote showed "the people of the country have spoken. It's a really good indicator of just how much closer to the people the House is than the Senate is." The House passed the amendment, 234 to 189, with 50 Democrats voting in favor. Tancredo introduced similar amendments at least seven other times since 2004, but each has failed, often by wide margins. The FY 2008 appropriations bill, with the amendment, now goes before the Senate. It would have to be signed by the president to become law.

The Colorado representative said the success of his amendment is an indicator that the House would crush the immigration reform plan if it passes in the Senate. "If I were (Speaker of the House) Nancy Pelosi, I'd be asking if she could pass a vote on amnesty on the House side," Tancredo said. "If she lost 50 Democrats on this one, and she says she needs 70 Republicans to pass the immigration plan, this is an interesting indicator of things coming down the pike, and that the times, they are a-changing."