By now you have all heard of the
terrible tragedy in San Francisco, where Kathryn Steinle was killed by Francisco
Sanchez, an illegal immigrant from Mexico. Her death brought to the forefront
the tragic policy of sanctuary cities.
For those of you that don’t know
what a sanctuary city is, it is a term given to a city in the United
States that follow certain local practices designed to protect illegal
immigration. There are many who feel this is a good policy and I am sure their hearts
are truly in the right place; however this policy belies a problem that many of
these cities face, which is a growing threat from violent criminals.
We must understand that these
sanctuary cities have taken the step to intentionally violate a 1996 federal
law (the Illegal Immigration Reform and
Immigrant Responsibility Act) which requires local governments to cooperate
with the Department of Homeland Security's, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
These ‘sanctuary’ policies instruct city employees not to notify the federal
government of the presence of illegal aliens living in their communities. The
policies also end the distinction between legal resident aliens and illegal
aliens, so those here illegally often benefit from taxpayer funded government
services and programs too.
Consider the ramifications to a
police department, sworn to uphold the law, who are told not to co-operate with
a federal agency. It tells them, in no uncertain terms, that the rule of man,
and not law, is the order of the day. What is even scarier is the fact that the
law becomes volatile, subject to political winds that may change to suit the
whims of those in office at the time.
One of the justifications, for creating a sanctuary city, is the alleged concern
for protecting immigrant rights, but that belies the fact that illegal aliens
are not immigrants. Immigrants come to the United States legally, often as a
result of a long and arduous process, and take the necessary steps to maintain
their legal status. A person who is illegally
smuggled into the U.S., or violates their visa restrictions, is not an
immigrant, but an unauthorized alien subject to deportation under existing
federal law.
I have heard all of the excuses,
such as “Illegal aliens, who are victims
of crimes, or who may be a witness to a crime, won't report them to police for
fear of arrest and deportation.” Okay, sure……..
I spent twenty-two years in law
enforcement. Let’s admit that this is a very convenient excuse which ignores
one fundamental fact: if illegal aliens were properly deported from the
U.S., then they would not be here to become victims, nor would the predators
that pray on them be here either. Try as I might, I could not find a spike in
crimes committed by people legal immigrants from Denmark, Netherlands or
Germany.
The truth of the matter is that
these sanctuary policies do little to protect, but actually create a thriving
environment for the criminal element, who fundamentally understands that they
are unlikely to face any serious risk of being deported.
While I probably understand better
than most, the need to protect the weak, I don’t believe that turning a blind
eye to the law is the best choice. We have a problem in this Country in terms
of illegal entry through our southern border. Simply renaming someone from ‘illegal
immigrant’ to ‘undocumented worker’ is a ruse, which should be insulting to
anyone capable of cogent thinking. How would
you feel if society decided to rename ‘burglars’ to ‘unannounced houseguests’, ‘drug
dealers’ to ‘unlicensed pharmacists’, or, better yet, a ‘rapist’ to an ‘unrequited
lover’?
Seems pretty absurd, doesn’t it?
Yet that is exactly what is occurring,
under the false guise of protection. The truth is, anyone coming over the
border illegally is a criminal. Simply changing their name does not negate
that. If you don’t believe me, I suggest trying that you illegally enter the
country of Mexico and see how well you are treated there when you claim that
you are simply an ‘undocumented worker’.
And it is not just ‘protection’
that is being offered in these sanctuary cities. Consider for a moment that NYC
recently implemented a program which allows illegal immigrants to obtain an
official NYC identification card and they won't be asked about their
immigration status. The card can be used for, among other things, to open a
bank or credit union account, and obtain residential benefits from City Hall. NYPD
officials have said the card will be used to issue summonses or desk appearance
tickets instead of arrest. Think about that for a moment. Someone, who has come
illegally, with no verification of ‘who’ they are, will be given a card that
can be used to obtain benefits and as ID in the case of an arrest……… How do you
know it’s them? Remember that the next time you are jumping through hoops to
prove who you are at a governmental agency.
Just for the record, this
nonsense is also being promoted by the same folks who tell you that getting an ‘ID’
to vote is somehow racist, because it somehow disproportionately affects
minorities, the poor, and Democratic voters. Huh? What?........ Wait, we’re
giving ID’s away to ‘poor, minority’ people, who we don’t even know, yet asking
for ID to vote is somehow bad? I’ll leave that discussion for another day, as I
digress.
For, once again, we are seeing
the folly of the sanctuary city play out in stark reality.
Kathryn Steinle, 32, died in her
father’s arms after being shot at random by Francisco Sanchez. Her last words
were “help me, Dad.” As a father, I cannot begin to imagine the pain that her
father is going through, but my heart breaks for him. It was a tragedy that did
not have to happen.
Sanchez, a career criminal with a
lengthy arrest history, should not have been on the streets of San Francisco,
or any other U.S. city for that matter. He had been in the custody of the San
Francisco Sheriff's Department last March 26, on a decade-old drug charge, but he
was released on April 15, after local prosecutors declined to pursue charges
against him. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said that at the
time they had turned over Sanchez to local law enforcement, they’d requested to
be kept apprised of any changes in his status, a common request that is
routinely conducted in other jurisdictions, but they weren't. Instead,
Sanchez was released from custody.
According to ICE records, Sanchez
had been previously deported five times, most recently in 2009, and his record
included seven prior felony convictions. ICE briefly had him in their custody
after he completed a prison sentence in California, but turned him over to San
Francisco, in March, on an outstanding warrant for a felony drug charge.
Now Sanchez sits in the same jail
he had been previously released from, but this time he won’t be leaving anytime
soon. Unfortunately, that is unlikely to be of little solace to the grieving
family of Kathryn Steinle.
How long before another family in
Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C., Detroit, or any of the other two
dozen more ‘sanctuary cities’ have to bury a relative because of the tragic and
misguided policies that give safe haven to criminals.
Oh, and not to let a good tragedy
go to waste, the White House has just announced that the death of Steinle,
is actually the fault of congressional Republicans. They are also apparently at
fault for the continuing gun violence in the President’s hometown of Chicago.
Maybe both the federal and state
governments need a refresher course in the rule of law, instead of trying to
play politics with the lives of American citizens.
