A Mother’s Plea to Congress: “Make Changes”

Cheryl Minter’s daughter, Stephanie, was stabbed and killed at a Virginia bus stop in February.

The suspect — in the country illegally — had been arrested more than 30 times in the sanctuary county before the murder. On three separate occasions, county police warned the prosecutor’s office not to release him.

But the sanctuary county let him go.

Last week, Cheryl Minter addressed Congress:

“I should not have to carry this pain because of a preventable failure….Do not let another family stand where I am standing. Make changes.”

Congressman Tom McClintock’s “Shut Down Sanctuary Policies Act” would provide those changes. The Judiciary Committee passed the bill in March. Now House leadership must bring it to the floor for a vote.

Nothing is scheduled.

The Big Picture

Most people breaking our immigration laws are not committing heinous acts like those perpetrated against the Minter family. But most are committing other crimes tied to illegal employment and unlawful presence. Those crimes have victims, too.

When lawmakers provide sanctuary for illegal hiring and illegal immigration, they create a large pool in which more dangerous actors can hide.

For months, sanctuary cities and states have been building the legal infrastructure to accommodate the next border crisis. Chairman McClintock’s hearing showed why Congress cannot afford to leave those policies unchallenged.

The Solution

NumbersUSA supports McClintock’s bill, the “Shut Down Sanctuary Policies Act” (H.R. 7640). The bill would:

• Allow local jurisdictions in sanctuary states to work directly with federal agencies,
• Redirect federal funds from non-cooperating jurisdictions to cooperating ones, and
• Give victims harmed by criminals released from sanctuary jurisdictions the right to sue.

(The previous House passed a similar bill in 2024 on a bipartisan basis.)

Congressman McClintock held the hearing. He wrote the bill. The committee passed it.

Now it’s time for the full House to vote.

Make changes.

If not now, when?