Reid Slams Attempts to Block Sanctuary Cities as ‘Donald Trump Act’

AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

By:

Hank Berrien

On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), reversing his position from just a few short years ago, when he voiced anti-illegal-immigrant sentiments, took the opportunity of an imminent vote on “sanctuary cities” to rip Donald Trump.
The legislation proposed by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) would limit federal funding for cities that don't abide by federal immigration law and increase penalties for undocumented immigrants. Reid snapped, "This vile legislation might as well be called the Donald Trump Act, like the disgusting outrageous language championed by Donald Trump. Republicans are not really proposing this bill to solve any problems within our immigration system. This Donald Trump Act was designed to demonize immigrants and spread the myth that they are criminals and threats to the public."



The hypocrisy displayed by Reid staggers the imagination, since virtually everything Trump has said was anticipated by Reid in 1993. How egregiously cynical is Reid’s criticism of Trump? This bad, as the Conservative Review (CR) points out: on Aug. 4, 1993, Reid introduced the Immigration Stabilization Act of 1993 (S.1351), “which would have ended birthright citizenship (an idea he called “insane”), clamped down on asylum seekers (very pertinent to World Trade Center bombing), expanded deportation of criminal aliens, increased penalties on re-entries and visa fraud, and excluded all legal immigrants from admission who “cannot demonstrably support themselves without public or private assistance.”
CR also quotes Reid press release at the time, which read:

Our borders have overflowed with illegal immigrants placing tremendous burdens on our criminal justice system, schools and social programs. The Immigration and Naturalization Service needs the ability to step up enforcement … Our federal wallet is stretched to the limit by illegal aliens getting welfare, food stamps, medical care and other benefits often without paying any taxes … Safeguards like welfare and free medical care are in place to boost Americans in need of short-term assistance. These programs were not meant to entice freeloaders and scam artists from around the world.

Just to complete how utterly similar Reid’s 1993 position was to Trump’s today, try this line from the press release: "Even worse, Americans have seen heinous crimes committed by individuals who are here illegally."
While Reid was posturing for his buddies in the Obama Administration, Senator Ted Cruz was attempting to guarantee a crackdown on “sanctuary cities” would come to pass. On Tuesday, he urged the GOP leadership to attach Vitter’s bill to a must-pass bill if Democrats block Vitter’s proposal standing by itself.
Cruz stated, "If a party-line vote blocks it, then the next step is not simply to have a vote. The next step is to attach this legislation to must-pass legislation and to actually fix the problem.” Possible “must-pass” bills include a long-term highway funding bill and a bill increasing the debt ceiling. Cruz concluded, “Leadership loves to speak of what they call governing, and in Washington governing is always said at least an octave lower, governing. Well, when it comes to stopping sanctuary cities and protecting our safety, we need some governing."