Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry says President Barack Obama's Justice Department has done "absolutely nothing" to prevent incidents such as the shooting death of Kate Steinle in San Francisco by a man in the country illegally.
"There are over 200 sanctuary cities and counties in this country, and the U.S. Department of Justice has done absolutely nothing – nothing – to prevent this," Perry said Sunday on "
The Cats Roundtable" on AM 970 in New York.
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"They should have been using the legal ability sanctioning these cities, sanctioning these counties, denying federal funding," Perry a GOP presidential candidate, told host John Catsimatidis. "It’s dangerous. It’s got to stop."
Steinle, 32, was shot to death walking on Pier 14 on San Francisco's waterfront with her father. Forty-five-year-old Mexican national Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez has been charged in her death. He told a San Francisco TV reporter he came to the city specifically because it is a sanctuary city and doesn't turn over illegal immigrants to federal authorities for deportation.
In addition to stopping federal funding to the cities and counties that offer such sanctuary, Perry said, proportional funding also should be stripped from states where such sanctuary areas exist in an effort to get the states to force cities and counties to comply with federal law.
"How many more Kate Steinles are we going to have to lose?" he asked.