Shooting by Undocumented Mexican in San Francisco Raises Questions About 'Sanctuary Cities' Marissa Lorusso - PRI's The World
go to original July 7, 2015

Kate Steinle was killed last week by an undocumented immigrant at Pier 14 in San Francisco. (Independent Sentinel)

Undocumented immigrant Francisco Sanchez is accused of shooting and killing a woman in San Francisco last week. And Sanchez, who admitted to the shooting, has quite a criminal history. The incident has opened up a conversation about certain immigration laws.

Listen to the Story (Public Radio International)

Sanchez has prior felony convictions in several US states. Most of these, however, were nonviolent drug charges. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has also deported Sanchez back to Mexico five times. Sanchez was in ICE custody earlier this year, but they turned him over to the San Francisco police on a drug-related charge.

But when they did, ICE asked that Sanchez not be released until ICE was informed. But San Francisco is a “sanctuary city” for immigrants, and so, doesn’t cooperate with ICE's "detainers."

In sanctuary cities, “no municipal funds or resources are used on trying to help federal law enforcement with immigration,” explains Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School. Local police don’t ask about immigration status, or report an immigrant's status to authorities. About 140 cities in the US are considered “sanctuary cities.”

Sanchez admitted in an interview with ABC7 News in San Francisco that he did, in fact, shoot 32-year-old Kate Steinle on Pier 14, a popular tourist attraction. Sanchez claimed it was an accident. He also said that he was living in San Francisco because he knew it was a sanctuary city.

The shooting has sparked debate about these policies and whom they’re really helping.

Read the rest at PRI's The World

Related: Sources Claim Gun Used in Pier 14 Killing Belonged to Federal Agent (tmj4.com)

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