San Francisco quite proudly declared itself a sanctuary city 26 years ago. It is proud of that fact. A “sanctuary city” means that Illegals of all shapes and sizes will, according to the mindset of Leftists, not be “ratted out” to various authorities for deportation just because they are “undocumented” — LeftSpeak for illegal.
San Francisco is proud of that label.
San Francisco is proud, even after a 32-year-old Pleasanton woman, Kate Steinle, was shot and killed in front of her father at Pier 14 on the Embarcadero in San Francisco, on Wednesday, July 1st, at about 6:30 PM.
Her last words were: “Dad, help me, help me.”
Her father was powerless, considering Kate Steinle had been shot directly in the chest three times by an illegal immigrant who purposely sought out San Francisco because he knew it was a sanctuary city.
Here’s where the pride of San Francisco comes in:
Had San Francisco authorities not refused a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer request, Lopez-Sanchez may not have been in the United States and Steinle might still be alive.
Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) addresses the core issue: laws were not enforced.
Laws were not enforced. We’ll get back to that.
The San Francisco Sheriff’s Department is in charge of illegal immigrant notifications, not the SFPD. The SF Sheriff himself, Ross Mirkarimi, is doubling down on his having done the proper thing:
S.F. Sheriff Defends Releasing Killer, Calls Trump ‘Opportunist’
by Michelle Moons
San Francisco’s Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi is defending the intentional April release of five-times-deported Mexican national Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, who has since confessed to the Wednesday shooting death of a young woman at Pier 14.
Sheriff Mirkarimi appeared agitated as he spoke to San Francisco-based KRON 4 News, casting blame on U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for not filing a formal court application to detain Lopez-Sanchez. In a separate CNN interview, Mirkarimi defended his refusal of ICE detainers. He called ICE policy the “imperfect deportation and transferring of people.”
It is San Francisco Sheriff’s department policy to deny all ICE detainer requests. He indicated that he only honors court orders.
Mirkarimi also told CNN’s Jake Tapper that sanctuary city policies “make us safer.”
Safer, yes, of course. Why didn’t I think of that?
Further, the San Francisco mayor, Edwin Lee, said in part:
As I said in 2013, we must protect both civil liberties and uphold public safety. Which is why, at the time, I promised to veto any legislation that completely eliminated the Sheriff’s ability to make a case-by-case determination about honoring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers. Our sanctuary policies should not create a safe harbor for convicted, violent felons.
Translated: Mayor Lee just threw Mirkarimi under the bus. But of course Lee takes the golden opportunity to turn a death into a political wiffle ball. It’s the fault of the Republicans:
Even after repeated attempts by President Obama and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi to reform our immigration laws, Republicans in Congress have blocked those efforts, unfortunately, leaving cities and local municipalities to act upon immigration issues that affect its residents. I will continue to work with the Obama Administration on Comprehensive Immigration Reform to ensure cities aren’t forced to make and enforce immigration law.
That said, what actually happened with Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez? He shouldn’t have even been in the United States. With seven felony convictions — not arrests, but convictions — Sanchez had been deported to Mexico five times. And came back each time.
Even CNN wrote about the circumstances surrounding the multiple releases of the murder suspect:
In March, Lopez-Sanchez was turned over to San Francisco authorities and ultimately released after completing a federal prison sentence.
U.S. Immigrations and Custom Enforcement said San Francisco wanted Lopez-Sanchez on a drug warrant, so the agency handed him over with a request to let it know if he was to be released.
Despite that request, San Francisco authorities let him go in April after the drug charges were dropped.
Freya Horne, chief legal counsel to the San Francisco County Sheriff, said city officials believe such requests violate Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures.
Question, Freya: if a federal detainer violated federal law, then how has the federal government been getting away with its various USC sections over the numerous years regarding deportations of illegals? When I worked Booking in the Sacramento County Main Jail as a deputy in the 80s, I would pick up the phone and call the USBP when we suspected a LE agency had arrested an illegal. The USBP did the rest. Simple.
Sanchez confessed to the murder but his Public Defender subsequently insisted he was not guilty.
It is San Francisco Sheriff’s department policy to deny all ICE detainer requests. He indicated that he only honors court orders.
ICE had begun processing the reinstatement of Lopez-Sanchez’s removal order before the prisoner was transferred on March 26 from a Bureau of Prisons facility in Victorville to San Francisco Sheriff’s custody pursuant to an old drug warrant.
ICE was informed of the transfer afterwards and alternatively issued a detainer request for the prisoner.
A San Francisco court dismissed Lopez-Sanchez’s drug charge on March 27.
On April 15, 2015, authorities dismissing the ICE request for detention released the seven-time convicted felon Lopez-Sanchez onto the streets.
Finally, I submit to Leftist sheriff Ross Mirkarimi (he is, you should know, a co-founder of the Green Party of California) that you, sir, are damned near equally responsible for the death of Kate Steinle. You go explain your philosophy and mindset to the parents, siblings, friends and relatives of Kate Steinle. Personally.
But you won’t. Because you are a coward and your belief system is “Leftist Mindset Uber Alles.” It’s funny, however, how you call Trump an “opportunist” when he dared to speak the truth about Mexico. Mexico is out for Mexico — but of course on your planet of purple skies you hadn’t remotely thought of that. Mexico does not give us our best and brightest. Its children have brought disease to this nation. It sends us more MS13 gangbangers. Its illegals commit crimes in this nation and commit murders. Yet your purple skies, Mirkarimi, “Trump all.”
You are absolutely disgusting in your willingness to forsake your law enforcement oath for murdering Leftist values. You sicken me. You are unfit to wear your badge. I say this, sir, as a recently retired (two weeks ago) Sergeant with a California department much larger than yours, after 41 years of service: you sicken me.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me finally write: wake up. Some of your police and sheriff departments are killing you in the fashion of the SFSO. They are killing you either by fear, cowardice, ignorance or by dint of wishing to be politically correct. But they are doing it nevertheless.
They are killing you because they are not obeying the law. Their not obeying the law is because they have chosen to do so for expedience — AND — because the federal government does not obey its own laws. More on that in a subsequent post.
I submit: the American taxpayers are not too terribly far away from picking and choosing which laws they will or will not obey.
Because the federal government and some agencies in law enforcement have already led the way on the issue.
And a terrible lead it is.
BZ
P.S.
Two additional points:
1. The handgun used by Sanchez to murder Kate Steinle was stolen in a burglary from a local federal agent. Sanchez said he “found” the handgun nearby wrapped in a T-shirt. Of course he did. Read this to see the lengthy criminal history of Sanchez as per a federal database.
2. Here is the City of San Francisco’s sanctuary ordinance from its own website. The complete text of the ordinance is here. Mayor Gavin Newsom’s Executive Order 07-01: Sanctuary City Policy (PDF) is delineated.
UPDATE:
Gavin Newsom has had the link to his Executive Order 07-01 Sanctuary City Policy REMOVED. The link, when clicked, now indicates: For Your Information – Page Not Found
Isn’t that just terribly convenient, as Stick points out, since it would appear that Newsom will likely be running for governor?
