Homeland secretary blasts sanctuary policies

[alp227]

Source: AP

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on Tuesday criticized policies such as the one in San Francisco against generally cooperating with immigration officials, calling the stances counterproductive and unacceptable.

The city's sanctuary policy has come under scrutiny since the shooting in July of Kate Steinle as she walked with her father and a family friend along the San Francisco waterfront.

The shooting triggered a national debate over immigration after it was revealed the man charged in the killing, Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, had been deported five times to his native Mexico and was out on the streets after San Francisco officials disregarded a request from immigrations authorities to keep him locked up.

Asked whether federal officials could have done more to prevent the release of Lopez-Sanchez, Johnson said the city's sheriff had failed to honor a request to detain him. He said he wants to do away with immigration detention requests, which have been resisted by some local communities, in favor of a notification system that prioritizes immigrants convicted of certain crimes.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/a8970d25ef4648eca55eacdf72ad86c7/homeland-secretary-blasts-san-francisco-sanctuary-policy

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San Jose Mercury News: Santa Clara County poised to cooperate with ICE

Santa Clara County is poised to become the fifth county in the Bay Area since an illegal immigrant allegedly shot a woman in San Francisco this summer to agree to notify federal immigration authorities when certain inmates flagged for possible deportation are about to be released.

Santa Clara County supervisors Tuesday indicated their support for the controversial policy after more than 40 people testified, primarily in opposition to any cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Under the policy proposed by Supervisor Dave Cortese, the county would notify ICE only when certain inmates who have been convicted of serious or violent crimes are about to be released. The state penal code contains a long list of such crimes, including murder, rape, arson, certain child molestation offenses, kidnapping and first-degree robbery and burglary.

"We really are talking about people who harm other people, who go into low-income neighborhoods and hurt people," Supervisor Cindy Chavez said.

[underthematrix]

1. There's one correction in this story. The man charged with killing the

young woman did not shoot her. Forensics verified that he picked up a paper bag that was underneath a bench he was sitting on. When he picked up the gun, it went off. It bounced off of concrete then entered the young women who was walking with her father. It was actually an accidental shooting.

With that said, the charged man should have been held for ICE as they requested. but now to avoid such horrors in the future, local communities should not have discretion to release individuals on an ICE hold.

It's sad for both the young woman's family and for the charged man's family.

By the way, the gun belonged to a BLM agent who had reported it lost or stolen.

[branford]

2. Could you kindly provide a reliable citation concerning the alleged forensics

that indicate Lopez-Sanchez accidentally fired the shots that killed the victim.

My searches reveal that the defendant only claims it was an accident because of the Glock's lack of an external safety, it is vigorously contested by the prosecution, and after a preliminary hearing, it was determined that Lopez-Sanchez will indeed face murder charges. The accident allegations are all the more dubious since the defendant fired three times and his prior inconsistent statements.

http://www.outdoorhub.com/news/2015/09/09/murder-suspects-lawyer-blames-guns-lack-external-safety/

http://www.lex18.com/story/29961218/man-at-center-of-immigration-debate-faces-murder-trial

Besides the absolute tragedy for the Steinle family, it has been a political disaster for Democrats and attempts to enact immigration reform. San Francisco, particularly the sheriff, handled the situation terribly, it helped idiots like Trump gain national legitimacy, and the upcoming lawsuit during the presidential election will not help our party, regardless of our nominee.

The new policies in the indicated counties make sense, San Franscisco needs to promptly change its policies and settle the lawsuit, and attempting to defend policies refusing cooperation with ICE concerning undocumented immigrant adults convicted of felonies, no less multiple felonies and who've been previously deported, is a surefire way to ensure a great many Americans will never trust our party to implement any immigration compromises or that any proposals are not wholesale amnesty.

[underthematrix]

3. KRON 4 News covers this story which is a local bay area TV mews outlet.

I only referred to the findings of the forensic evidence which indicated the results were consistent with the charged man's statement.

[Lychee2]

4. Good.

"Sanctuary cities" need to be de-sanctified, and deportation laws need to be enforced. Here's what Bernie Sanders had to say about illegal immigration in 2013:

But here’s where I do have concerns,” he continued. “There is a reason why Wall Street and all of corporate America likes immigration reform, and it is not, in my view, that they’re staying up nights worrying about undocumented workers in this country. What I think they are interested in is seeing a process by which we can bring low-wage labor of all levels into this country to depress wages for Americans, and I strongly disagree with that.”

http://thinkprogress.org/election/2015/07/30/3686282/bernie-sanders-immigration/

[Comrade Grumpy]

5. Sanctuary cities are a response to our broken immigration policy.

Under Obama, we've deported far more people than ever before, including more than 260,000 thousand for drug offenses.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/16/260000-deported-from-us-over-five-years-for-drug-offences-says-report

We've been breaking up families, deporting people who've lived here most of their lives, permanent residents. The policy is harsh and inhumane, and Congress refuses to pass immigration reform. I don't criticize the sanctuary cities; I laud them.