San Francisco Ends “Sanctuary” Policy for Illegal Juvenile Immigrants
Recent threats from the U.S. attorney for San Francisco have pushed the city to stop its nearly two-decade-old “sanctuary” policy for juvenile illegal immigrants convicted of drug charges, according to the Washington Post.
The city now reportedly plans to hand the juveniles over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials for deportation.
It seems San Francisco, a city well-known for its liberal policies, has been implementing a controversial “sanctuary” law since 1989. The law called for the city to provide airfare to the home countries of undocumented juvenile immigrants with drug convictions.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, controversy surrounding the law arose over using city funds to aid convicted criminals and over the fact that the policy prohibited city officials from following federal immigration guidelines.
So what caused the city to halt its sanctuary operation after 19 years?
It seems that the U.S. attorney for San Francisco threatened to bring charges against city officials for harboring criminals. While such charges certainly have a reasonable legal basis, the city’s reasons for implementing the sanctuary policy, too, were well-founded.
Apparently, drug lords tend to lure young, unsuspecting immigrants in with promises of legitimate work, as in the construction industry. Then, the children are evidently manipulated into becoming drug sellers themselves, and end up enmeshed in the dangerous and frightening world of drug deals in the U.S.
Plus, children involved in such scams often stand to lose quite a lot – sources indicate that many must choose between working and watching their families starve, a choice no child should have to make.
Supporters of the sanctuary policy allegedly view protecting children as one of the city’s top priorities – indeed, when shown in this light, using city dollars to purchase airline tickets for convicted criminals appears as a much more obviously humanitarian pursuit.
Unfortunately, it seems the city’s emphasis on compassion is at odds with federal immigration regulations and deportation policies.
The clash between the two reportedly flared up recently at an airport, when ICE officials detained a San Francisco probation officer who was escorting two juvenile drug convicts to their flight to Honduras, their home country.
And the city’s case was apparently not helped when its “backup plan” for illegal youth drug offenders – which involved sending the children to a group home in the southern part of the state – resulted in the escape of all eight individuals sent there.
According to sources, recent polls have shown that immigration ranks high among “hot” issues on voters’ minds this election year.
Stay tuned to Total Immigration for the latest news on immigration policies nationwide.