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The Baltimore County Council is taking up a controversial measure that takes aim at sanctuary cities, which prompted a large protest Tuesday in Towson.

Democratic leaders in Baltimore County, activists and immigrant-rights advocates rallied outside the old courthouse to protest County Bill 32-17, which would require the Baltimore County Detention Center to screen for illegal immigrants.

"Ladies and gentleman, this is a time for real leaders to stand up against hate and bigotry," Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz said. "Not only is this bill unconstitutional, it's Un-American."

The protesters called the measure flawed and racist.

"That is not the Baltimore County that so many of the friends and neighbors that are here today support and live and breathe every day," said Elizabeth Alex, a regional director for CASA. "I think the introduction of this bill on May 1 signaled for a lot of folks a red flag that this is not the country I want to live in."

The protest came a week after the Trump administration released its proposed budget that essentially rewrites federal rules in order to pressure so-called sanctuary cities to help enforce immigration laws. Jurisdictions that don't comply risk losing millions of federal dollars.

The protest was staged two hours ahead of a public work session on the legislation, which is backed by the three Republicans on the County Council, including Todd Crandell, who said the bill is modeled after ones already adopted in Frederick and Harford counties.

"The 287G program has been around since 1996, in various forms," Crandell said. "It's a model that's very simple, (there's) no cost to implement to the taxpayers of Baltimore County, and will increase the level of public safety in our communities."

Crandell said the bill calls for teaming up with federal officials to enforce existing immigration laws.

"This isn't about detaining people beyond a release date," Crandell said. "(It) simply

would train Department of Corrections officers in Baltimore County, in our detention center, to assess the immigration status of someone who has committed or allegedly committed a crime egregious enough to be placed in the Department of Corrections."

Crandell told 11 News that he currently doesn't have enough votes to pass the bill, let alone by a veto-proof margin. The county executive has threatened a veto.

The bill goes up for a final vote on Monday.

WEBVTT , THEY RISK MILLIONS INFEDERAL DOLLARS.>> NOT ONLY IS THIS BILLUNCONSTITUTIONAL, IT ISUN-AMERICAN.KATE: A LARGE AND SPIRITED RALLYTO PROTEST COUNTY BUILD 3217.BACKED BY THE THREE REPUBLICANSON THE BALTIMORE COUNTY COUNCIL,THE LEGISLATION WOULD REQUIRETHE DETENTION CENTER TO SCREENFOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS.TODAY'S PROTEST WAS TIME TOCOINCIDE WITH THE MEETING.THEY CALLED THE BILL FLAWED ANDRACIST.>> THIS SIGNALED FOR A LOT OFFOLKS A RED FLAG.THIS IS NOT THE COUNTY AND WANTTO LIVE IN.KATE: SUPPORTERS INCLUDING TODDCRANDALL, ABSOLUTELY DISAGREE.>> THIS IS NOT ABOUT DETAININGPEOPLE BEYOND A RELEASE DATE.K: CRANDALL SAYS HIS BILL ISMODELED AFTER ONES THAT WEREDROPPED IN FREDERICK AND HARFORDCOUNTIES AND SAY IT -- IS SAIDIT CALLS FOR AN EXISTING LAW TOINCREASE PUBLIC SAFETY.>> SIMPLY WOULD TRAIN DEPARTMENTOF CORRECTIONS OFFICERS INBALTIMORE COUNTY IN OURDETENTION CENTER TO ASSESS THEIMMIGRATION STATUS OF SOMEONEWHO HAS COMMITTED OR ALLEGEDLYCOMMITTED A CRIME EGREGIOUSENOUGH TO BE PLACED IN THEDEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS.K: HE TOLD US RIGHT NOW HE DOESNOT HAVE THE VOTES TO GET THEBILL PASSED LITTLE ON PAST IHAVE VETO PROOF MARGIN AND THECOUNTY EXECUTIVE HAS THREATENEDA VETO.THE BILL GOES UP FOR A FINALVOTE BEFORE THE FULL COUNCIL ONMONDAY NIGHT.

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Bill would require jail to screen for illegal immigrants - WBAL Baltimore

Republican lawmakers are trying for the third time to pass an immigration bill that is considered a key issue for President Trump, reports The Hill.

Called 'Kate's Law,' it is named after 32-year-old Kate Steinle who was shot and killed on July 1, 2015, in San Francisco by an undocumented immigrant who had been deported multiple times, notes the Washington Times.

RELATED: Faces of Trump's immigration crackdown

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Faces of Trump's immigration crackdown

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Mexican national Adalberto Magana-Gonzalez, 44, waits to be processed after being taken into custody by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Fugitive Operations team in Santa Ana, California, U.S., May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson SEARCH "NICHOLSON ARREST" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY.

Mexican national Adalberto Magana-Gonzalez, 44, has his fingerprints taken after being taken into custody by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Fugitive Operations team in Santa Ana, California, U.S., May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson SEARCH "NICHOLSON ARREST" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

The badge of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Fugitive Operations team is seen in Santa Ana, California, U.S., May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson SEARCH "NICHOLSON ARREST" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Assistant Field Office Director Jorge Field (R), 53, arrests Mexican national Adalberto Magana-Gonzalez, 44, in San Clemente, California, U.S., May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson SEARCH "NICHOLSON ARREST" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Mexican national Adalberto Magana-Gonzalez, 44, waits to be processed after being taken into custody by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Fugitive Operations team in Santa Ana, California, U.S., May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson SEARCH "NICHOLSON ARREST" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Assistant Field Office Director Jorge Field (R), 53, arrests Mexican national Adalberto Magana-Gonzalez, 44, in San Clemente, California, U.S., May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson SEARCH "NICHOLSON ARREST" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Fugitive Operations team takes immigration fugitives into custody in Santa Ana, California, U.S., May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson SEARCH "NICHOLSON ARREST" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Handcuffs lie in a box at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Fugitive Operations office in Santa Ana, California, U.S., May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson SEARCH "NICHOLSON ARREST" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Assistant Field Office Director Jorge Field (L), 53, arrests an Iranian immigrant in San Clemente, California, U.S., May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson SEARCH "NICHOLSON ARREST" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Assistant Field Office Director Jorge Field (R), 53, and Field Office Director David Marin arrest an Iranian immigrant in San Clemente, California, U.S., May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson SEARCH "NICHOLSON ARREST" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Assistant Field Office Director Jorge Field, 53, arrests an Iranian immigrant in San Clemente, California, U.S., May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson SEARCH "NICHOLSON ARREST" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Fugitive Operations team member arrests an Iranian immigrant in Santa Ana, California, U.S., May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson SEARCH "NICHOLSON ARREST" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Fugitive Operations team search for an immigration fugitive in Santa Ana, California, U.S., May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson SEARCH "NICHOLSON ARREST" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

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Democrats had previously blocked the bill in 2015 and 2016; last year, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid explained that the move had to do with the expense and burden of imposing what he called "unnecessary mandatory-minimum sentences."

The current Senate version of the bill, sponsored by Texas Senator Ted Cruz, requires "a 10-year maximum prison term for an alien who re-enters after being denied admission, excluded, deported, or removed on three or more prior occasions."

SEE ALSO: Texas lawmaker threatens to shoot colleague over immigration fight

It also establishes "a 5-year mandatory minimum prison term for an alien who re-enters after being removed following a conviction for an aggravated felony or following two or more prior convictions for illegal re-entry."

The future of the Senate bill is uncertain, at least in part, because it has been folded into broader legislation involving border security.

As Lynn Tramonte, deputy director of the liberal group America's Voice, pointed out to The Hill, "...the more radical they make their bill, the less likely it is to pass."

SEE ALSO: How Trump travel ban impacts number of US visas issued

Trump has maintained a hardline stance on illegal immigration since his campaign; he even invoked Kate Steinle's name during his speech accepting the Republican presidential nomination, notes KRON.

While her brother has spoken out against Trump's use of her name and his immigration policies, her parents are reportedly suing the federal government for a number of reasons related to her death.

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GOP hopes to pass 'Kate's Law' which punishes illegal immigrants re-entering the US - AOL

The Bay States U.S. attorneys office has launched a media blitz on the immigration front, firing off a torrent of press releases touting his offices work as the Trump administration pushes prosecutors to prioritize illegal immigration cases.

The newfound flood of attention comes weeks after Attorney General Jeff Sessions sent a memo to the countrys 94 acting U.S. attorneys, telling them to focus on aggressively prosecuting such offenses, including those tied to gang and drug cases.

Acting U.S. Attorney William Weinreb acknowledges his office is still ramping up its immigration caseload, which aides say so far is similar to the roughly three dozen or so cases it had prosecuted to this point last year under then-U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz.

But the offices promotion machine has been in full gear. During the last month, Weinrebs press office has sent 12 separate press releases on cases of previously deported defendants being charged, convicted or sentenced for illegal re-entry, a common immigration offense. Just last Friday, it sent three news releases in seven minutes, spotlighting cases that carry a maximum sentence of two years.

Under Ortiz, the office sent 10 press releases on such charges over her final five years.

I think in the weeks or months to come, youre going to see those numbers increase, as well the numbers of other kinds of immigration crime, Weinreb told the Herald, adding that hes designated a prosecutor to handle illegal-re-entry cases as part of adjustments within the office. We do make sure we publicize our efforts so the cases that we do bring will have a deterrent effect.

Nearly five months after Ortiz resigned, President Trump has yet to name any permanent U.S. attorneys.

But Weinreb insisted his push to highlight the offices efforts on immigration is not a bid to curry favor with the Department of Justice and win the post.

We dont bring cases for the sake of publicizing them or publicizing them for any reason other than to deter others, Weinreb said. Were a public service agency. The community has the right to know what were doing. They have a right to know whether or not we are pursuing the DOJ priorities.

Making good on a Trump campaign promise to more strictly enforce immigration law, Sessions wrote in his April memo that illegal-re-entry cases should be a priority, particularly in gang cases.

In Massachusetts, Weinreb said, that will include tacking immigration offenses onto a charging docket when appropriate, even if it already includes far more serious drug or violent offenses.

Michael Sullivan, a former Massachusetts U.S. attorney who has made recommendations for the next U.S. attorney to the White House, said hes not surprised by the heightened focus on immigration cases, given the priorities Trump set.

Messaging is important, especially if you want to change behavior. You put them on notice, Sullivan said. I think (Weinreb) is doing whats expected of a U.S. attorney.

Brian T. Kelly, a former federal prosecutor under Ortiz who is now in private practice at the firm Nixon Peabody, said the Boston U.S. attorneys office has always prosecuted illegal re-entry cases, suggesting there may be a change in press policy rather than law enforcement policy.

A new administration with new priorities, he wrote in an email.

More here:
Illegal immigrant cases on docket | Boston Herald - Boston Herald

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and 'Carne y Arena' cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki attend a Cannes photocall.(Photo: Pascal Le Segretain, Getty Images)

CANNES, France One of the best things at this year'sCannes Film Festivalisn't a movie, at least in a traditional sense.

Carne y Arena("Flesh and Sand") is a groundbreaking virtual-reality exhibit that invites visitors to step into the shoes of illegal immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. Created by Oscar-winning director Alejandro Gonzlez Irritu (The Revenant, Birdman), the seven-minute installation drops participantsinto the middle of a chilly desert at dusk, where a group of weary, multi-generational Hispanicfamilies are spotted by helicopters and caughtby U.S. Border Patrol agents.

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The simulation, which runs through Sunday at Cannes before opening in Los Angelesin July, is housed in an airplane hangar 15 minutes away from the festival center. Upon arrival, visitors are escorted one by one into an austere holding room, where the recovered shoes of actual migrants are strewn across the floor. There, theyare asked to remove their own shoes and socks before entering a giant square room filled with coarse, cold sand. Attendants then strap on VRheadsets and backpacks, which are attached to a wire hanging from the center of the room to ensure participantsdon't wander into a wall.

The story that unfolds is equal parts chilling and harrowing. Migrants shriek and scatteras vehicles with blinding headlights close in on them. Border agents armed with machine guns bark orders and force them on the ground, where a dehydrated old woman is cradled by a crying family member. Small children play with toys before they are thrown into a van, just as a teenage boy is pushed onto the hood of a car by a belligerent officer. As the sun rises on the barren desert the next morning, all that remains are their scattered shoes and belongings in billowing dust.

A visitor in a virtual-reality headset explores 'Carne y Arena' at Cannes Film Festival.(Photo: Courtesy of Cannes Film Festival)

Part of what makes the immersive film so affecting to watch is thatIrritu asked undocumented immigrants not professional actors to recreate their actual experiences of trying to cross the border illegally. Real-world elements also add authenticity: Cold gusts of air hit visitors'cheeks as they trek barefoot through the gritty sand, with sounds of sirens and helicopters droning. The photorealistic avatars walk right alongside participants, and in one especially unsettling moment, a border agent yellsin their faces, demanding that they geton theirknees withhands up.

Carne y Arenaviscerally, and emotionally, puts a human face to the plight of illegal immigrants. But it isn't the only project at Cannes this year to spotlight migrant stories.

In her heartfelt documentarySea Sorrow, actress/activist Vanessa Redgravemakes an impassioned pleafor developed nations to open their borders to refugeesfrom war-torn Middle Eastern nations such as Syria and Afghanistan. Hungarian drama Jupiter's Moon is an unconventional superhero fable, about a Syrian refugee (Zsombor Jger) who discovers he can fly after getting shot crossing the Serbian-Hungarian border. Although met with boos at Cannes, the ambitious filmpoignantly illustrates how people fear and often violently react to those who are seen asdifferent.

Syrian refugee Aryan (Zsombor Jger) gets the power to levitate in the divisive 'Jupiter's Moon.'(Photo: Courtesy of Cannes Film Festival)

Then there's the final scene of Michael Haneke's French-language dramaHappy End, in which the guilt-ridden Pierre Laurent (Franz Rogowski) bargesinto his mother, Anne's(Isabelle Huppert), bougie seaside weddingparty with a group of unassumingAfrican refugees.

Disgusted byhis family's prosperous construction firm, and condescending treatment of their Moroccan live-in servants, Pierre attempts to sharethe migrants' stories withthe stunned crowd, but is promptly punchedby his uncle Thomas (Mathieu Kassovitz)and dragged out of the room. Afterward, Anne apologizesfor her son's outburstand awkwardly arranges a table for the group of men to stay for lunch.

Cannes breakout 'Florida Project' shows darker side of Disney World

The scene is perhaps the only timein the movie which is competing for Cannes' prestigious Palme d'Or award on Sunday that the self-possessed Laurents are forced to look beyond their upper-class privilege towhat's going on right outside their mansion doors. At a news conference earlier this week, Haneke (the Oscar-winningAmour) expressed his distaste with such a narrow worldview.

"It's hard to talk about contemporary society without referring to how blind some people are to real life," Haneke said."There's a certain bitterness in (Happy End)about the way we liveand how we're so deeply involved in ourselves. That really annoys me. ... We have the impression that we're well-informed, but we really know nothing."

The well-to-do Laurent clan at the heart of Michael Haneke's 'Happy End' gets an unexpected dose of reality when a group of refugees turn up at a family gathering.(Photo: Courtesy of Cannes Film Festival)

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Cannes: VR exhibit shines sympathetic light on illegal immigration - USA TODAY

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In a new report by Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), an organization that advocates for more legal immigration and defends illegal immigration, the group alleges that 15 percent of the 4 million illegal immigrants living in just seven southern U.S. states may be eligible for amnesty.

The amnesty for the 600,000 illegal immigrants, CLINIC says, is based on claims from the individuals that they came to the U.S. after facing persecution abroad or because they have family already living in the country.

A research who worked on the report for CLINIC told Reuters that President Donald Trumps administration should not be deporting illegal immigrants to begin with.

As we ramp up immigration enforcement in the United States, we should take this figure and remind ourselves that we shouldnt deport first and then ask questions, University of California at San Diego researcher Tom Wong said.

Wong said the number of illegal immigrants who he believes could get amnesty may be higher, as only states like Texas, Georgia, and Florida were outlined in the study.

There are approximately 11-30 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S., costing taxpayers an estimated $113 billion while also putting a strain on public hospitals, public housing, and public education systems.

Most recently, the open borders lobby has been pushing hard to end the Trump administrations enforcement of federal immigration law.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerbergs pro-immigration group, FWD.us, recently stated that enforcing immigration law hurts public safety and demanded an end to deportations, as Breitbart Texas reported.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart Texas. Follow him on Twitter at@JxhnBinder.

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Open Borders Group: 600000 Illegal Aliens Could Receive Amnesty - Breitbart News