Democrat Who Voted to Pass Laken Riley Act Says He'll 'Stay Out' Of Republicans Way on Sanctuary Cities

A Democratic lawmaker who represents a Texas district won by President Donald Trump in the 2024 election said he will likely "stay out" of Republicans' way on an upcoming law that would pull federal funding from cities that don't cooperate with the federal government's immigration crackdown.

Concretely, Vicente Gonzalez said "I don't have sanctuary cities in my district, and so I'm probably going to stay out of people's way," according to POLITICO. He had voted no on a version of the bill last year, but has seemingly changed his mind on the upcoming vote.

The outlet added that House Republicans are set to call a vote on the "No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities Act" within weeks. Advocates are looking to prevent the same outcome as the Laken Riley Act, which saw several Democrats in both the House and the Senate join Republicans in passing the bill.

Democrats are set to whip against the bill before the vote, the outlet added. This was not the case with the Laken Riley Act, potentially leading lawmakers to present a more united front.

"People had not really had a feel for all the craziness of the executive orders and the actions taken by Elon Musk and his crew to try to break the government, and I think now people have a full sense that what is being proposed here is really about hurting people, and that it's a great overreach," Illinois Rep. Chuy García said when arguing why he expects a lower level of support for this bill.

However, others concede that lawmakers in swing districts risk attacks from the GOP if they refuse to vote for the bill.

The Trump administration has set its sights on sanctuary cities as part of its immigration crackdown, with Attorney General Pam Bondi recently threatening to sue those that don't comply with the government's expectations. She has already spearheaded a suit against the Chicago for this reason.

"Not only did we sue the City of Chicago...we sued the State of Illinois...we sued the Mayor and we sued the Governor...and let me be very clear...if you don't comply with Federal Law...you're going to be next..." she said earlier this month.

The lawsuit against Chicago asserts that local sanctuary laws interfere with Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) ability to detain and deport undocumented individuals. "The challenged provisions of Illinois, Chicago, and Cook County law reflect their intentional effort to obstruct the Federal Government's enforcement of federal immigration law," the lawsuit states.