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ily members approached the microphone , one by one , to speak about a lost son or daughter .
“ I truly believe that Mr . Trump is going to change things ,” Mr . Ronnebeck said , his voice catching . At the Republican National Convention , Mr . Shaw , Ms . Durden and another parent took turns speaking about their children .
Mr . Trump ’ s acceptance speech was partly devoted to the story of Sarah Root , 21 , who was killed in Nebraska the day after graduating from college by a Honduran immigrant who was driving drunk .
“ I ’ ve met Sarah ’ s beautiful family ,” the nominee said . “ But to this administration , their amazing daughter was just one more American life that wasn ’ t worth protecting .”
July 2017 Edition
said , referring to local governments , including San Francisco , that limit their cooperation with immigration officials .
“ But where was the sanctuary for Kate Steinle ?” ( Learn More as Kate Steinle ’ s family speaks with Anderson Cooper about the legal action they are taking after she was shot and killed by an undocumented immigrant . Courtesy of CNN and YouTube . Posted on Sep 3 , 2015 )
The president has since vowed to starve such cities of federal funding , but a judge has temporarily blocked his administration from doing so .
The House is scheduled to vote this week on a bill , known as Kate ’ s Law , that would stiffen penalties for immigrants caught illegally re-entering the country after being deported .
( Donald J . Trump tells the tragic story of the college graduate , Sarah Root , 21 , who was killed by a drunken illegal immigrant street-racer who is now a fugitive . Courtesy of NationalAcq and YouTube . Posted on Jul 23 , 2016 )
He also mentioned the case that , at least on the right , had come to define the dangers of illegal immigration : that of Kathryn Steinle , a 32-yearold woman shot to death on a San Francisco pier in 2015 .
The suspect was an ex-felon from Mexico who had been deported five times . A few months before Ms . Steinle ’ s death , the local authorities had released him from jail without notifying federal immigration agents .
“ My opponent wants sanctuary cities ,” Mr . Trump
For all the heat the Steinle case generated , however , her family kept a distance from the campaign , occasionally breaking their silence to voice discomfort with the way her death had become a political grenade . ( Through their lawyer , they declined to comment .)
“ For Donald Trump , we were just what he needed — beautiful girl , San Francisco , illegal immigrant , arrested a million times , a violent crime and yada , yada , yada ,” Liz Sullivan , Ms . Steinle ’ s mother , told The San Francisco Chronicle in September 2015 .
‘ We ’ ve Chosen to Speak .’
Politics makes public playthings of private lives . As their losses came to eclipse everything else about them , the families became , in Mr . Trump ’ s
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