The Political Dynamics of Justice Reform in The U.S.

consequences for drug convictions, even legal immigrants also remain at risk of
deportation for those same crimes.
Despite the momentum of prison reform, a tough-on-crime stance remains in much of
the debate on immigration. And current events could push it even further in that
direction. A week after Obama urged reductions in mandatory minimum sentences for
nonviolent drug crimes, Congress discussed a new mandatory minimum for nonviolent
immigration offenses.
Those favoring a tougher approach got renewed support this month, after the shooting
death of a young woman in San Francisco. The woman, Kathryn Steinle, was shot on
July 1, as she walked along a city pier. An undocumented immigrant, Juan Francisco
Lopez-Sanchez, was charged with her killing; his lawyers said it was accidental and he
pleaded not guilty. Lopez-Sanchez had re-entered the U.S. after five deportations, and
had been released from county jail after authorities refused to detain him at the request
of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In the last few weeks, he has become
immigration’s “Willie Horton,” invoked by numerous politicians and talking heads as they
call for tougher border enforcement and an end to “sanctuary cities.”
A hearing on Tuesday by the Senate Judiciary Committee featured multiple family
members of those killed by non-citizens. “I will not give up another child so that a foreign
person can have a nicer life,” said Laura Wilkerson, whose son Joshua was killed by an
undocumented immigrant in 2010. “Thank you to Mr. Trump for getting the message
out.”
The committee chairman, Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, blamed the deaths on
the Obama administration’s “lax immigration policies.”
“The Obama administration, in too many cases, has turned a blind eye to enforcement,
even releasing thousands of criminals at its own discretion,” he said, addressing the
panel. Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, followed with: “Convicted
felons should be removed from the country but not released into our streets.”
Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas — a supporter of drug sentencing reform — said
he had introduced “Kate’s Law,” which would punish illegal re-entry into the U.S. with at
least five years in federal prison. Senator Grassley announced a bill with a similar
provision. “No more people should die at the hands of those who break our laws just by
being here,” Grassley said.
Lopez-Sanchez served four years in federal prison for returning to the U.S. after his
deportation to Mexico. The average sentence is 18 months, but it can be as long as 20
years depending on someone’s criminal and immigration history.
The prosecution of immigration crimes has grown in recent years to make up a large
part of federal law enforcement. A report by the Brookings Institute's Hamilton Project,
from which Obama cited the overall cost of mass incarceration in the U.S., says that the
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