No city should harbor illegal immigrants. Sanctuary cities disregard federal immigration law and guidelines from the 9/11 Commission Report and have adopted a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Many even ban police officers from asking about immigration status without a criminal cause.

Amendments were offered to several spending bills that prohibit state and local governments that fail to share information with immigration authorities from receiving federal funds. These provisions passed with my support, and a final version is being worked out in conference between the House and Senate.

That’s why I am a co-sponsor of the Accountability in Enforcing Immigration Laws Act of 2007. This bill would give local law enforcement the authority to investigate, identify, apprehend, arrest, detain and/or transfer to federal authorities any illegal immigrant. This bill would also make illegal immigration a felony and end non-emergency Homeland Security funding for sanctuary cities that do not change their policies within 6 months of enactment.

I have also joined 22 of my colleagues in supporting H. Res. 351 to strengthen and vigorously enforce all existing immigration laws. And we must make sure that we secure our southern borders first and shut down the flow of illegal immigrants into this country before we can move forward with other immigration proposals. I will continue to work toward sensible reforms that uphold our laws and focus on what is best for America.