A shooting that took the life of a 32-year-old woman has fueled a nationwide immigration debate. On July 13, the victim's parents said in a television news interview that they supported a proposal that would give mandatory prison time to people who were deported and return to the U.S. illegally.

K. Steinle, 32, was walking along the waterfront in San Francisco when she was allegedly shot by J. Francisco Lopez Sanchez, a native of Mexico who was in the U.S. illegally.

Sanchez, 45, pleaded not guilty to the fatal shooting. Months earlier, he was released from jail despite the fact that a federal immigration order asked the local authorities to hold him for his deportation proceedings.

The death of Steinle started a national debate on immigration, with some Bay Area Democrats denouncing San Francisco's immigrant "sanctuary" protections, which harbor people who are in the U.S. illegally.

Victim's Parents Propose 'Kate's Law'

Steinle and his wife proposed "Kate's Law" as a way to keep their daughter's memory alive. Bill O' Reilly, of The O'Reilly Factor is collecting signatures for their petition.

If Kate's Law were to pass, those who were deported and returned to the U.S. would have to spend a mandatory five years in federal prison.

ABC News reported that Sanchez was deported three times before he was sentenced to more than five years in federal prison. After he completed another four years in federal prison, he was shipped to San Francisco on March 26 on a 1995 drug charge, which the DA's office decided not to prosecute.

On April 15, the San Francisco Sheriff's Department released Sanchez in spite of the federal immigration authorities' request to keep him in custody for 48 hours until they could pick him up for deportation proceedings.

Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi fiercely defended his decision, saying that he was following the law, including a 2013 city ordinance that applies to federal immigration detainers.

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