“Our borders have overflowed with illegal immigrants placing tremendous burdens on our criminal justice system, schools and social programs.

“Our federal wallet is stretched to the limit by illegal aliens getting welfare, food stamps, medical care and other benefits often without paying any taxes.

“Safeguards like welfare and free medical care are in place to boost Americans in need of short-term assistance. These programs were not meant to entice freeloaders and scam artists from around the world.

“Even worse, Americans have seen heinous crimes committed by individuals who are here illegally.”

No, that wasn’t a campaign quote from Donald Trump. It certainly wasn’t anything “Jeb!” or Hillary said. It is from the mouth of Democrat Harry Reid (D-Nev.) — but from 1993. We think Reid was working on the premise that American lives mattered.

A reminder: On July 1, an illegal alien who had been deported five times killed a 32-year-old American woman, Kate Steinle, in San Francisco, a “sanctuary city” where local law enforcement does not honor requests from federal authorities to detain illegals for ICE pick up. Not that law related to immigration enforcement matters much in Obama’s transformed America.

We can only hope this innocent and productive young woman’s completely preventable death is as long-remembered as that of Michael Brown, the Ferguson, Missouri street criminal who reportedly roughed up a cop after robbing a store before being shot by a police officer last year.

In case you are wondering, no, President Barack Obama did not send an official delegation to Kate Steinle’s funeral.

According to government data, about 120 immigrants released back into the community have gone on to be charged with subsequent killings. To be clear: Obama has blood on his hands.

A direct result of the American ruling class just looking for a better life, death by released illegal alien is not a new occurrence. But the killing can be greatly reduced if local governments act to protect the people they were elected to serve by cooperating with the little real enforcement efforts the Obama regime allows.

Sanctuary cities (and counties) are already “illegal” under federal law and have been since 1996.

So, for common-sense Georgians looking for an issue to push in the next General Assembly, know this: Sheriffs in Fulton, DeKalb and Clayton counties have — quite proudly — made it policy to not honor ICE detainers for illegal aliens.

If you doubt that astoundingly mindless and dangerous fact, just take a look at the websites of the illegal alien lobby groups like the corporate-funded GALEO, where the executive director, Jerry Gonzalez, congratulates the counties for advancing the anti-enforcement cause.

Gonzalez says releasing criminal illegal aliens makes us all safer.

So far, there is silence from the governor and most state legislators on these sanctuary counties — as well as the near-certainty that the consequences will be dire for more innocent Americans.

And Georgians should be speaking out in gratitude to state Sen. Josh McKoon from Columbus. He plans on expanding his bill, SB 6 — aimed at ending the current loony practice of rewarding any illegal aliens with Georgia driver’s licenses — to include sanctioning local governments that refuse to protect us from criminal aliens. And he wants to require the state to obtain data from the feds on criminal aliens released by the Obama administration and make it available to the public.

McKoon has seen the reports that other states are not just striving to make life comfortable for illegals, but actually hiring them to be public school teachers, giving them a license to practice law and putting them ahead of Americans and legal immigrants for in-state tuition and taxpayer-subsidized scholarships. His intent is to make sure that doesn’t happen in Georgia.

It should come as no surprise that the young conservative state senator is a constant target of the anti-borders left, including many in the liberal media blogosphere, but it should be an informative and shocking wake-up call that Republicans who ran as “conservatives” have in large part remained silent on offering their support for McKoon’s bold and potentially life-saving common sense ideas.

A growing number of Georgia sheriffs have offered strong support for McKoon and his intentions — including ending the practice of rewarding illegals with driver’s licenses.

21st-century Georgia Legislators with their fingers in the air should try to find the passion of 1993 Harry Reid and voters should light up the legislator’s phones.

Maybe Americans killed by illegal aliens can get as much action and attention as the Confederate Flag.

D.A. King is president of the Georgia-based Dustin Inman Society. He is assisting Senator McKoon with his immigration legislation. Twitter: @DAKDIS

Read more: Cherokee Tribune - End Georgia sanctuary counties