MASSACHUSETTS; Somerville mayor hits back at Bobby Jindal over sanctuary cities

Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone today slammed Republican presidential candidate Bobby Jindal's call to charge “sanctuary city” mayors as accomplices in crimes committed by illegal immigrants as a campaign ploy and an appeal to the “lowest common denominator.”

“Come and get me,” Curtatone charged in a Boston Herald Radio interview, shortly after Jindal took to the station airwaves to detail his proposal. “You say something absurd, you fear monger, you play to the crowd … we're smarter than that.

“I love listening to Jindal, because I swear if you didn't know who he is, you swear it was Gomer Pyle,” the Democrat added. “We shouldn't lower ourselves to the lowest common denominator, and that's the brain of … Bobby Jindal.”

Jindal, the Louisiana governor who has framed himself as an anti-establishment candidate in the crowded Republican field, also said local mayors and elected officials in sanctuary cities – or those that defy federal immigration authorities – should be held liable civilly by victims or their families for the crimes of illegal immigrants.

He pointed to the death of Kathryn Steinle, who was killed in San Francisco, allegedly by an illegal immigrant who was released from police custody despite a detention request from the feds. The crime has sparked the push behind “Kate's Law” and has been repeatedly referenced by Republican presidential candidates, including Donald Trump, when discussing immigration.

Jindal said mayors like Curtatone – who has signed an executive order pulling the city out of the federal Secure Communities program – should be “criminally liable as accessories,” adding that, “If you're going to flaunt (sic) federal law, there should be a consequence.”

But Curtatone rejected that thinking, pointing to what he called “misinformation” around the concept of sanctuary cities, which he said is an effort to build trust in communities, not give criminals a free pass.

He said in the case of Steinle's murder, Somerville would have turned the suspect over to federal immigration authorities.

“Unfortunately that terrible incident (in San Francisco) is being used to describe an entire population and its being used by people like Bobby Jindal who say the most absurd, offensive things against one segment of the population. As a society, we have more compassion than that,” Curtatone said.

He said Jindal's comments are simply a move to push him “beyond the 1 percent right now” in presidential polls. He sarcastically said “Sheriff Bobby Jindal” hasn't put him in handcuffs.

“More like, Deputy Barney Fife, has not arrested me yet,” Curtatone said.

Via: Boston Herald

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[EDITORIAL] S.F. 'sanctuary' policy violates common sense: Our view

A little bit of common sense and discretion might have prevented the killing this month in San Francisco of Kathryn Steinle — a victim not only of random gunfire but of the mindless handling of the city's immigration policy.

Her accused killer is Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, a Mexican immigrant who had a felony drug record going back 20 years, had been deported five timesand had repeatedly sneaked back into the USA (which raises serious questions about border security that the current, polarized debate isn't addressing in a helpful way).

OPPOSING VIEW: Sanctuary policy makes San Francisco safer

Lopez-Sanchez was in the San Francisco County jail in April and should have been deported yet again. Federal immigration authorities had lodged a "detainer," seeking to get custody and do just that. All they needed was a call or other contact from the sheriff's office.

The contact was never made, not because of some ghastly mistake or miscommunication but because of a city ordinance that prohibits police from honoring detainers except in rare cases. And, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, because of a policy by the local sheriff that bars contact with immigration authorities. After a local charge against Lopez-Sanchez was dropped, he was held for three weeks, then put on the street.

On July 1, less than three months later, Steinle, 32, was dead, collateral damage in a long-running feud between the local and federal governments over deportation.

San Francisco is one of nearly 300 cities and counties across the country with sanctuary laws or policies aimed at separating federal immigration enforcement from local policing, in order to build trust between immigrant communities and local police. The reasoning goes like this: If immigrants, including millions of undocumented ones, see local police officers as a tool for deportation, they will not report crimes or come forward as witnesses, even when they are victims, and public safely will suffer.

In that context, there's a certain logic to the "sanctuary" idea, but not when carried to extremes. Sanctuary policies set by cities, counties and states differ from place to place, but San Francisco's violates all common sense. Protecting a hard-working undocumented immigrant charged with a misdemeanor is one thing. Putting a long-term felon and serial illegal entrant on the street is the antithesis of ensuring public safety.

That's especially true when there is a more reasonable approach, one used, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, by many police departments under sanctuary laws. Officers pick up the phone to call immigration when they plan to release potentially dangerous immigrants wanted for deportation. Immigration comes to pick them up.

Kathryn Steinle's death ought to be a cause for sober reevaluation of sanctuary policies. Without a cease-fire and a working agreement in this war that has pitted local law enforcement against federal immigration authorities, there will be more innocent casualties.

USA TODAY's editorial opinions are decided by its Editorial Board, separate from the news staff. Most editorials are coupled with an opposing view — a unique USA TODAY feature.

Via: USA Today

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Jack Kelly: Don't blame Trump

Kate Steinle, 32, was walking with her father along the Embarcadero in San Francisco in the early evening July 1 when she was shot – apparently at random -- by Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, 45, an illegal alien from Mexico who’d committed 7 previous felonies in the U.S.

Mr. Lopez-Sanchez had been deported five times. It would have been six, but for the fact San Francisco is a “sanctuary city.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had Mr. Lopez Sanchez in custody after his release from federal prison in March, but turned him over to sheriff’s deputies for San Francisco county, where a drug warrant had been issued for him.

ICE asked to be notified if San Francisco released Mr. Lopez-Sanchez, so he could be deported. But San Francisco does not honor such requests from federal immigration authorities.

In Laredo, Texas, the day after Kate Steinle was murdered, Juan Francisco de Luna Vasquez, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, beat his wife to death with a hammer.

Mr. de Luna Vazquez had been deported four times. It would have been five if Laredo police had informed the Border Patrol of earlier violent episodes with his wife.

In 2013, ICE released back into local communities 36,007 illegal aliens who among them had nearly 88,000 criminal convictions – including 193 homicides, 426 sexual assaults, 303 kidnappings, and 1,075 aggravated assaults.

All were being processed for deportation, but were freed while awaiting final disposition of their cases. Most of the releases were discretionary (not required by law.) After their release, at least 1,000 committed additional crimes.

The 36,000 were in addition to 68,000 other illegal aliens with criminal convictions encountered by ICE in 2013, but released without being processed for deportation.

Last year ICE released 30,558 criminal aliens who, collectively, had almost 80,000 convictions, including 250 homicides, 386 kidnappings, 373 sexual assaults, 994 aggravated assaults.

Illegal immigrants comprise about 3 percent of the population in the U.S., 30 percent the federal prison population, 38 percent of those convicted of federal crimes in FY 2013. More than 40 percent of federal criminal cases filed by U.S. attorneys last year were in five districts along the Mexican border.

These statistics go unmentioned by Democrats and journalists who’ve assailed Donald Trump for remarks he made about illegal immigrants when he announced his candidacy for president June 16.

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best,” Mr. Trump said. “They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.”

This was a crude statement from someone notorious for making crude remarks. The vast majority of illegal immigrants have broken no other U.S. laws. Most work long hours for low wages at scut jobs to provide a better life for their families.

Illegals are far more likely to be victims of violent crime. As many as 80 percent of illegal immigrant women are raped during their perilous journey here. In every major population group, only a relative handful of people commit violent crimes. The proportion of violent felons among illegal immigrants probably is about the same as for the native born.

But violent felons among the illegal immigrants commit lots of crimes -- crimes that would not have been committed if they hadn’t gotten into the country in the first place, been deported promptly, or kept in custody until they could be deported.

Mr. Trump deserves criticism for how he said it, but the thrust of what he said is indisputably true. Criticism of his infelicitous remark is hypocritical coming from those who’ve asserted or implied Republicans who seek stronger border security measures are “racist.”

I don’t like Donald Trump. I wish he’d said what he said in a more accurate, less provocative way. But it isn’t he who deserves condemnation. It’s the politicians whose policies have made them accessories before the fact in the murder of Kate Steinle, and so many others.

Via: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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CONNECTICUT SANCTUARY CITY MAYOR: WE WILL KEEP PROTECTING ILLEGAL ALIENS

Illegal alien and Kathryn Steinle’s alleged murderer, Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, would have been treated in Connecticut exactly as San Francisco treated him. Apparently, this is fine with sanctuary city New Haven Mayor Toni Harp.

According to the Journal Inquirer (JI), on Friday, Harp said that her city will continue to protect illegal aliens despite the horrific murder of Steinle in San Francisco.

Without a history of a violent felony or a court order for his detention, Lopez-Sanchez would not have been detained by state or municipal authorities in Connecticut, state Correction Commissioner Scott Semple said, reported the JI .

Lopez-Sanchez, a five-time deportee and seven-time convicted felon, said in a local ABC affiliate interview that he chose to go to San Francisco because he knew the sanctuary city would not hand him over to immigration officials. San Francisco police did not inform immigration officials when Sanchez’s most recent release occurred in April. The illegal alien allegedly stole a .40-caliber handgun from a federal Bureau of Land Management ranger’s car in June and shot and killed Steinle earlier this month.

Last year, Connecticut enacted a law that bars police from detaining an illegal alien unless that individual is determined to pose specific public safety risks. If the risks are deemed present, police are required to inform federal immigration officials that the illegal alien will be detained. The individual is released, however, if federal officials do not take custody of him within 48 hours.

Semple’s memo to federal immigration officials indicates that Connecticut would follow guidelines similar to what transpired in San Francisco:

Under the revised policy, the Connecticut Department of Correction will no longer enforce ICE detainer requests and administrative warrants solely on the basis of a final order of deportation or removal, unless accompanied by a judicial warrant or past criminal conviction for a violent felony.

As Breitbart News reported Friday, since President Obama took office, “the number of non-citizens Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sought to deport but did not due to the ruling of a judge, requests from the government, or the use of prosecutorial discretion have increased 42 percent.”

As a state, Connecticut has opened its arms to illegal aliens. The cities of Hartford and New Haven have signed on as sanctuary cities with ordinances providing that police do not transfer to immigration officials illegal aliens who have been arrested – or even notify ICE at all about them. The state also enacted a law at the end of last year that allows illegal aliens to obtain driver’s licenses.

“New Haven will continue to welcome new residents from other countries and embrace their positive contributions in our community, all in the spirit of ‘e pluribus unum,’” Harp said. “The city’s ongoing ‘sanctuary’ status reflects a widespread acceptance of diversity in New Haven and respects the distinct jurisdictions administered by the federal and local governments.”

Via: Breitbart

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Can Kate Steinle's Family Sue San Francisco Over Its Sanctuary City Policy?

FILE -- July 2, 2015: Liz Sullivan, left, and Jim Steinle, right, parents of Kathryn "Kate" Steinle, talk to members of the media outside their home in Pleasanton, Calif. (Lea Suzuki/San Francisco Chronicle via AP

)Looking for justice? Move to Mexico. When it comes to looking to the U.S. courts for protection, you may have a better chance if you’re from south of the border.

Kathryn "Kate" Steinle was shot dead on July 1, allegedly by Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, a Mexican felon who was in the U.S. illegally. Lopez-Sanchez would have been deported but for the fact that San Francisco is a "sanctuary city," which is why officials there chose to release him and ignore an ICE detainer. This effectively put him back on the street. And yet, if Steinle's family tries to sue the city for this travesty, it may be thrown out of court.

Meanwhile, in Arizona, a judge has just denied a motion to dismiss a case brought by the mother of a Mexican teen who was shot by a U.S. Border Patrol agent in a cross-border shooting. You read that right. The teen was Mexican, shot in Mexico, and the judge still ruled that his mother may sue the Border Patrol agent. U.S. District Court Judge Raner Collins opined that "the Mexican national may avail himself to the protections of the Fourth Amendment and that the agent may not assert qualified immunity." The ACLU attorney on the case applauded this ruling, saying, "The court was right to recognize that constitutional protections don't stop at the border."

Perhaps they begin there. If Kate Steinle's family cannot use our laws to get justice in her name, and yet the family of this Mexican teen can, the immigration debate has truly become the twilight zone.

Via: Fox News

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Candidates call for changes in "sanctuary city" policies

As immigration continues to be a contentious issue on the campaign trail, many politicians are calling for changes in "sanctuary city" policies, reports CBS News correspondent Jan Crawford.

The idea of the policies is to support immigrants and provide assistance if they became involved with minor offenses. But the policies have come under scrutinysince the murder of a San Francisco woman, allegedly by an undocumented immigrant.

"We ought to eliminate 'sanctuary cities,"' former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said.

Play VIDEO

San Francisco under fire for "sanctuary" immigration policy

On this immigration issue, Republican presidential candidates agree.

"One of the things we've talked about in the past, and we've tried to get included with negotiations with Democrats in the past, is the idea of getting rid of the 'sanctuary city' situation," Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said on Fox News.

Now Congress is considering action.

"I don't think you can have whole cities or whole states just not obeying the law," Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said.

It became front-page news after the murder of Kathryn Steinle, allegedly shot and killed by Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, a convicted felon who had been deported to Mexico five times.

Lopez-Sanchez was released from jail in April. But he was on the streets because San Francisco officials, under city policy, ignored a request from federal immigration officials to notify them before he was set free.

Play VIDEO

Killing ignites immigration debate over "sanctuary cities"

The crime even has Democratic candidates like Hillary Clinton softening their previous support for "sanctuary cities."

"The city made a mistake, not to deport someone that the federal government strongly felt should be deported," she said.

But for Republicans, it's a chance to reset the crucial immigration debate and move away fromDonald Trump's incendiary comments about illegal immigrants.

San Francisco is one of more than 200 sanctuary jurisdictions, including New York, Miami and Los Angeles, that can offer a safe harbor for undocumented immigrants who otherwise might face deportation.

Via: CBS This Morning

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Traitor Cities

The “sanctuary city” movement that gave illegal aliens permission to rob, rape, and murder Americans is the product of decades of concerted collusion by radical groups like the ACLU to get cities to pledge to violate laws that protect U.S. national security.

Cheered on by the Left, sanctuary cities frustrate immigration enforcement efforts and shield illegal aliens from federal officials as a matter of policy.

The Obama administration is fine with that. President Obama has made America a sanctuary country, rolling out the red carpet for illegal aliens, especially those from Mexico, to come to the U.S. and depress labor markets while they suck the nation’s welfare state dry.

What these traitor cities do is itself unlawful, Hans von Spakovsky notes, but they get away with it because President Obama is determined to dismantle America’s immigration system in order to flood the country with desperately poor, illiterate peasants from the Third World.

Obama wants to do this in order to wash away the rule of law tainted as it is by Anglo-Saxon jurisprudence, along with whatever stubborn residue of American Revolutionary enlightenment that remains deeply embedded within the tissues of our culture and free institutions.

Americans are being attacked and killed by illegal aliens in perhaps more than 200 so-called sanctuary cities across the country because subversive left-wing advocates like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have been working to undermine the nation’s borders and immigration laws. Throughout this long leftist campaign those who demand that federal immigration laws be enforced have been smeared as racist and lacking in compassion. It’s not fair that illegal aliens aren’t given the same rights as U.S. citizens, they whine, mindlessly repeating vapid slogans like “no one is illegal.”

Via: Canada Free Press

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[VIDEO] The new Willie Horton?

Is Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez the new Willie Horton?

There are some people who would obviously like him to be. The story, which is about an undocumented immigrant who allegedly murdered a young woman in San Francisco named Kathryn Steinle after having been released from jail, has gone national. And it’s working its way into the presidential campaign. The way the candidates deal with it (or not) will tell us a lot about the state of immigration politics today.

It’s important to understand that there’s no consensus even on the right about how much attention to give to Lopez-Sanchez’s case. Most of the Republican candidates are treading carefully so far. While they oppose the “sanctuary city” policies that meant that Lopez-Sanchez wasn’t turned over to immigration authorities when he had been arrested for lesser crimes, they haven’t yet tried to use this case as a bludgeon to attack Democrats. (The unsurprising exception to this is Donald Trump; meanwhile, for the record, many Democrats have said that a sanctuary city policy should still have allowed someone like Lopez-Sanchez to be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.)

Yet at the same time, conservative talk radio and Fox News are practically vibrating with delight over this story. When I checked in to the network’s web site this morning, it was the subject not only of the main screaming headline, but five other written stories and four videos, with more coming all the time.

What does this one case tell us about crime in America and our immigration policies? The real answer is not much, because one case is always just one case. According to the latest FBI crime statistics, around 38 Americans are murdered each and every day; every one is a tragedy. We know that as a group, immigrants are actually much less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans. And though it illustrates an extreme negative consequence that can come from a sanctuary city policy, police in cities with sanctuary policies often argue that they help fight crime by allowing residents of immigrant communities to work with law enforcement without the fear that they’ll be turned over to immigration authorities.

Via: Washington Post

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