Kate Steinle’s father: We didn’t coin ‘Kate’s Law’

Kate Steinle’s father says he doesn’t want his daughter’s name at the center of political controversy following passage of a prominent bill targeting undocumented immigrants.

“I don’t know who coined ‘Kate’s Law,’” Jim Steinle told San Francisco Chronicle editorial page editor John Diaz for a piece published Friday. “It certainly wasn’t us.”

The comments came in a piece titled “Leave Kate Steinle out of the immigration debate,” which called for public figures to stop invoking her name in the immigration debate.

The House passed a bill known as “Kate’s Law” in June, which increases maximum penalties for undocumented immigrants who illegally enter the country multiple times after they have been deported.

Lawmakers invoked the death of 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle, who was fatally wounded while walking the San Francisco waterfront in 2015 by a felon who had been deported to Mexico on five previous occasions.

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Her father told the Chronicle he would support “Kate’s Law” if it would save lives, but said he would rather have his daughter’s name kept out of it.

Kate Steinle became a talking point for many on the right, including President Trump, in the immigration debate, with her death often being used to argue against sanctuary cities.

However, Steinle’s parents told Diaz in 2015 they were not necessarily against sanctuary cities.

“We didn’t have a stance against sanctuary city,” Jim Steinle said in 2015, adding “We wanted to make darn sure that people understand that, because that’s kind of the hot-button issue locally.”