by Jason Hopkins
Law enforcement in San Francisco will no longer be cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, per a directive by San Francisco’s newly elected sheriff.
Paul Miyamoto, who was elected to be the top law enforcer in San Francisco in November 2019, declared to a local media outlet Tuesday that his department will not help with federal immigration enforcement. While San Francisco has long opposed most cooperation with ICE, the announcement further cements the progressive city’s status as a sanctuary jurisdiction.
“Our department is not involved in immigration enforcement,” Miyamoto, the first Asian American sheriff of San Francisco, told KTVU Fox 2. “We feel that is a federal matter, and our realm of interest is public safety, and you can’t really have a safe community if the community members are afraid to come to us to report crimes.”
Namely, his department will not honor immigration detainers lodged by federal agents. If an illegal alien in San Francisco is placed into local custody for an unrelated crime, and ICE asks that the individual be transferred into the agency’s custody, that request will simply be ignored.
Miyamoto argues that the policy promotes public safety, despite that there are many documented cases of illegal aliens committing additional crimes after they have been released from local custody.
The directive appears somewhat redundant given that authorities all across California have already been greatly prohibited in how they can work with ICE. Having been in effect since January 2018, the California Values Act bars state and local agencies from honoring ICE detainer requests, making it impossible for illegal aliens to be directly transferred into the agency’s custody.
While giving his latest State of the Union address earlier in February, President Donald Trump specifically highlighted California as an example of the dangers of sanctuary policy. The president invited as his guest the brother of a man who was killed by an illegal alien. That particular alien had been arrested by local authorities and had an ICE detainer placed on him, but because of the California Values Act law, he was released back into the public.
The Trump administration took its opposition to California’s sanctuary policies a monumental step farther this month when the Department of Justice announced a complaint against a state law that prohibits the operation of private detention facilities. Attorney General William Barr said at the time that the law was intended to forbid the detention of aliens in the state.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed, a Democrat, declared that the city was being unfairly targeted by the Trump administration, but she remained adamant about the city’s protection of illegal aliens.
“We’re being targeted on so many levels,” Breed said. “But, the fact is we’re a strong city, we’re a resilient city and we will fight against those attacks and we will protect the people of this city.”
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Jason Hopkins is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.
This guy should lose his position. And the dept should lose all federal funding.
Then cut their Federal Funding, give them nothing, let the socialist state pay their salaries, keep my money out of it, idiots!!!
Its time for California to sucede from the Union!!!
I agree with Casca, any crime committed after a release of someone that ICE is looking for the releasing agency should be held equally responsible for the crime. Arrest them all.
“Our department is not involved in immigration enforcement,” Miyamoto, the first Asian American sheriff of San Francisco, told KTVU Fox 2. “We feel that is a federal matter, and our realm of interest is public safety, and you can’t really have a safe community if the community members are afraid to come to us to report crimes.”
What if the crime is committed by an illegal?
He and Others that let someone out instead of turning them over to Ice and they commit any crime against anyone should be charged for aiding and abetting a crime, plus charged for their failure to enforce the other Federal laws on the matter and protect Citizens.
Why no one is ever charged for lying under oath or for failure to fulffill their oath to the Constitution is puzzling to say the least. There is no law in California. They protect our enemies and persecute and prosecute Citizens and Illegal Aliens and Politicians and Hollywood are left to commit crimes without fear of facing justice!
I have not spoken yet to a “deplorable” living in “fly-over country” who supports those idiots.
But the Feds, through FEMA and other agencies funds about 70% of the rescue, repair, rebuild costs of Cal. made disasters like the Camp Fire, the Oroville Dam repairs, and soon-to-be SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks on the streets of LA and SF.
Time for the federal government to stop sending money to the trash heap called California. Either cooperate with the feds or go it on its own. I am tired of supporting those idiots that endanger life and limb.