Get the Facts on Kate's Law

Jul 17, 2015
Fact Sheet

The Background: Kate Steinle was a 32- year-old resident of California.  She was walking with her father along Pier 14 in the Embarcadero district of San Francisco on July 1, 2015 when Juan Francisco Lopez Sanchez, an illegal alien deported five times and with seven felony convictions, shot and killed her. 

The Problem: Despite his five previous deportations, Lopez Sanchez repeatedly re-entered the United States illegally, and continually returned to San Francisco for its illegal “sanctuary city” policies. Current law, 8 USC §1326 specifies the punishment for immigrants who illegally reenter our nation.  Current penalties are listed as

  1. a fine under title 18, or
  2. imprisonment for not more than 2 years, or
  3. both.

Different circumstances can increase the maximum prison sentence (up to 10 years), however in all instances the administration is presented with three sentencing options: a fine, a maximum sentence, or both.  It is clear that a maximum sentence of between two and 10 years or an unspecified monetary fine is not a sufficient deterrent when thousands of illegal aliens cross the border after deportation

The Bill: H.R. 3011, the Establishing Mandatory Minimums for Illegal Reentry Act of 2015 (Kate’s Law), would amend these sections of the United States Code to remove the fine as a sentencing option and include a five-year minimum sentence as required punishment for re-entry to the United States after deportation.