The Hill
By Mike Lillis
July 8, 2015
The
fatal shooting of a San Francisco woman in a popular tourist district,
allegedly by an illegal immigrant with a long criminal record, has
intensified the debate over
immigration on Capitol Hill.
It has also focused attention on the issue of “sanctuary” cities that do not cooperate with federal officials on deportations.
Top
lawmakers in both parties claim the tragic incident bolsters their
divergent approaches to immigration reform — one of the thorniest issues
in Washington.
Republicans
have pounced, accusing the Obama administration of a failure to enforce
deportation policies and other immigration laws.
They’ve
scheduled hearings and highlighted legislation designed to discourage
sanctuary statutes, which prevent local authorities from assisting
federal immigration efforts.
Democrats
have countered that criminal offenders would be easier to deport if
Congress would pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill —
legislation opposed by House
Republicans.
At the same time, several Democrats on Tuesday sought to distance themselves from San Francisco’s sanctuary law.
Sen.
Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) issued a statement calling on California Gov.
Jerry Brown (D) to investigate whether state law was followed and
whether it needs to be strengthened
to ensure a similar incident doesn’t happen.
“For
decades, I have supported deporting violent criminals, and I have
always believed that sanctuary should not be given to felons,” she said.
Hillary
Clinton also weighed in, saying that San Francisco made a mistake in
“not deporting someone the federal government” wanted to deport.
The
controversy had already entered the presidential race, with GOP
candidate Donald Trump seizing on the fatal shooting of 32-year-old
Kathryn Steinle, who was killed
last Wednesday while strolling with her father along the San Francisco
waterfront.The police have charged Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, a
Mexican immigrant with multiple felony convictions who had been deported
at least five times.
In
March, the Federal Bureau of Prisons had released Lopez-Sanchez to the
San Francisco Police Department for an outstanding arrest warrant on
drug charges. A month later,
the SFPD dropped those charges and released Lopez-Sanchez without
informing federal officials, despite their requests to be notified and
his status as a top deportation priority of U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement.
The
incident has led to plenty of finger-pointing, with ICE officials
suggesting San Francisco bears the blame for Lopez-Sanchez roaming free
and city officials citing
a 1989 law that bars the use of local funds to help federal immigration
cases.
House
Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), who has accused the
Obama administration of nurturing local sanctuary laws, linked the
tragedy to “reckless”
federal policies.
“Sanctuary
city policies coupled with the Obama administration’s lack of
immigration enforcement have created a public safety crisis,” Goodlatte
said in an email. “The
tragic murder of Kate Steinle once again underscores the need to end
these reckless policies.”
Although
the precise number of similar sanctuary laws is difficult to pinpoint —
not least because there’s no official definition — ICE Director Sarah
Saldaña told lawmakers
earlier in the year the number tops 200 nationwide.
Defenders
of the sanctuary laws say they’re an important crime-fighting tool,
fostering cooperation between local law enforcers and community members
who might otherwise
remain in the shadows for fear of being deported.
Critics argue that they create criminal safe havens that encourage illegal immigration, visa overstays — and worse.
In
March, Goodlatte’s committee passed a bill designed to erode such
sanctuary laws by withholding certain federal grants from local
governments that decline to cooperate
with federal immigration efforts. That debate will continue next week
when the panel stages an oversight hearing on the Homeland Security
Department, where the sanctuary issue is sure to be prominent in the
wake of Steinle’s killing.
Former
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) has joined Trump in arguing that San
Francisco’s law contributed to the killing. Trump, who sparked a
firestorm of controversy last month
when he characterized most Mexican immigrants as criminals, has only
amplified those sentiments since Steinle’s death.
“This
is merely one of thousands of similar incidents throughout the United
States,” Trump said Monday. “[T]remendous infectious disease is pouring
across the border.”
The
White House has been quick to fire back, accusing Republicans of using
the Steinle tragedy to score political points with their conservative
base.
“The
fact is the president has done everything within his power to make sure
that we’re focusing our law enforcement resources on criminals and
those who pose a threat
to public safety,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said this week.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) defended the San Francisco law.
“San
Francisco’s sanctuary policy was originally established by religious
and community leaders to protect those fleeing violence and oppression
in their native countries,”
she said in an email. “We have consistently called for comprehensive
immigration reform to fix our broken national immigration policy to
focus our immigration enforcement resources where they belong: deporting
felons, not families.”
Rep.
Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) echoed Pelosi’s calls for broader reforms,
suggesting they could have eliminated the miscommunications surrounding
Lopez-Sanchez’s release.
“People
who commit crimes — and in this case, multiple felonies, as I
understand it — need to be excluded and removed from our country,” he
said. “Living in America is
a privilege.”
But
Hoyer also seemed to criticize local sanctuary laws. Asked if local
authorities should be communicating with federal officials when they
have custody of illegal immigrant
criminals, Hoyer didn’t hesitate for a moment.
“My view,” he said, “is yes.”
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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