Jindal calls for harsh penalties against sanctuary cities

by Megan R. Wilson - 08/22/15 2:29 PM ET

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal on Saturday called for the elimination of sanctuary cities and criminal charges for their municipal leaders.

“A dumb immigration policy is what makes America weaker, and that is what we’ve got today,” Jindal told attendees at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines.

The presidential hopeful said sanctuary cities — places in which there are policies that protect illegal immigrants — should be eliminated.

{mosads}“It’s fine that Congress wants to defund them; let’s do more,” he said. “Let’s hold those mayors and city councilmen criminally responsible as accessories for the crimes committed by people who shouldn’t be here in the first place. Let’s lock them up.”

Jindal also lamented that “big business” is keeping stricter plans from being put in place on border security.

“We could get it done in six months, if we were serious. But, look, the reality is that you have big business interests in D.C. that don’t want the border secure, they want amnesty,” he said. He did not name the industries he finds responsible.

“They pay for protesters, they try to silence free speech. I’m here to tell you we are going to stand up to the big business interests, we don’t care.”

As Jindal spoke, a group in the crowd chanted “We are America” and “Citizenship now.”

“We don’t need a thousand-page bill, we don’t need a comprehensive approach. It is time to secure the boarder once and for all,” Jindal said to applause.

Business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have pushed Congress to enact comprehensive reforms to the immigration system – including to worker visa programs.

“The Republican Party is not the party of big government, we should not become the party of big business either,” Jindal said.

He opened the speech with a lengthy story about his parents coming to the United States from India, saying that they “lived the American dream.” At the end, he reminded the crowd that he came here legally.

Tags Bobby Jindal