Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) joined 43 fellow Democrats and one Republican (Kirk, R-IL) on October 20 to vote against the Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act that required 60 “Yea” votes to pass.

K. Harkness/The Daily Signal

If enacted, the law would have withheld “…certain federal funding from states or cities that refuse to comply with requests from federal immigration officials to turn over immigrants who are in the country illegally.”

Kate’s Law defeated

Kelsey Harkness of The Daily Signal noted “Kate’s Law” was one of the provisions in the failed Sanctuary Policies bill.

Kate’s Law became a national issue in July this year after an illegal immigrant shot and killed 32-year old Kate Steinle in San Francisco. Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez had seven prior felony convictions and had been deported to Mexico five separate times.

Kate’s Law proposed a five-year sentence for certain illegal immigrants. The law would mandate five years in prison for illegals who reenter the United States after convictions for an aggravated felony, or who have aattempted three times to enter the country illegally.

McCaskill’s “No” vote seems inconsistent

The Senator’s official website highlights policy statements on immigration:

… In 2010, [she] questioned Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on incidents in Missouri in which local law enforcement were instructed to release illegal immigrants from their custody, back to the workplace, and urged the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement to improve coordination with local officials. Claire’s work helped to secure additional training for Missouri law enforcement on how to set guidelines on detaining illegal immigrants …

Missouri has no sanctuary cities within its territory. The Center for Immigration Studies Sanctuary Map shows sanctuary areas “next door” in Kansas.

In nearby Johnson County, a County Sheriff Office Decision of June 2014 requires ICE present a warrant or prove probable cause before a  detainer will be honored. Five other counties in Kansas have the same or similar policies.