Letter to U.S. Senator Landrieu on San Francisco's deadly sanctuary policies

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July 25, 12:04 AM

by Arthur Bruzzone, S.F. Politics Examiner

 

 

Dear Senator Landrieu,

I write this letter to you because you were the only Democratic Senator to oppose S. 1639, the immigration reform bill.  You have fought to protect the country's borders.  To protect the nation's borders requires that we also protect the nation within its borders.

You should know about the consequences which can arise when a city openly defies immigration laws through sanctuary policies---how such defiance can turn tragic and violent. 

Here are a three consequences of San Francisco's "sanctuary" policy:

Misappropriated funds.  San Francisco  wrongfully applied and accepted federal funds to fight border crime, and instead shielded convicted juveniles from deportation. 

Violation of Federal regulations.  This city spent $2.3 million in defiance of the provisions of the Southern Border Prosecution Initiative by shielding illegal felons from federal deportation proceedings.

Violent consequences.  This month, one such convicted illegal immigrant juvenile, allegedly a member of the violent M-13 gang, was arrested for gunning down a father and his two sons on our streets with an AK-47. 

Each of these developments are part of a syndrome:  The unintended consequences when cities decide they can better initiate immigration policies than the Federal government.

Allow me Senator to provide you with some detail. 

As you know, S.1639, which you opposed, directs the Attorney General to carry out the Northern Border Prosecution Initiative to reimburse northern border entities for costs incurred for the disposition of criminal cases.  The program mirrors the Southern Border Prosecution Initiative.  Under the latter program, San Francisco repeatedly staved off federal auditors before admitting that this city had no proof it was entitled to $5.4 million in grant money it received for helping federal authorities fight border crime.  That according to a U.S. Justice Department.   Please note that San Francisco is located 500 miles away from the nearest border.

The auditors found that of the 2,241 cases that the city said were eligible for reimbursement, the city double-billed the government for 283 of them.  The city has  since repaid $2.7 million after federal prosecutors threatened to sue the city for the $5.4 million in grant money the city owed the government.

Second, the story about this city's illegal shielding of convicted juvenile offenders has gotten national attention. Instead of turning over convicted juvenile offenders to the federal government for deportation, the city spent $2.3 million to house illegal immigrants at a juvenile hall. From Jan. 1, 2005, through June 4 of this year, 162 immigrant youths were held a total of 8,164 days at the local juvenile hall. Several of the youths were arrested more than once. At $285 a day per youth, the cost to taxpayers totaled $2.3 million.  

Then the city flew convicted illegal immigrants to Honduras at a cost of $18,951, allowing them to avoid deportation proceedings that could have resulted in their being barred from ever returning to the United States.  Finally, San Francisco began to house Illegal immigrant crack dealers at an unlocked group homes in Southern California at a cost of $7,000 a month.  Everyone one of those youths has escaped into the surrounding community. 

Finally, and most tragically, this month one convicted illegal youth has been arrested in the brutal triple murder of a father and his two sons over a minor traffic incident. The suspect apparently benefited from the city's "sanctuary" policy when he reportedly was convicted twice of felonies in 2003 and 2004 but was never turned over for deportation. 

Senator, your colleague, U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo asked the U.S. Department of Justice to take over the case, alleging San Francisco authorities have mishandled it.  I ask you to investigate the case and the sanctuary policies of San Francisco to insure no further violations of federal immigration laws are occurring.  

My city has defied this nation's federal immigration laws and regulations.  If we are to have meaningful and effective immigration reform, we must account for the abuse and defiance of existing statutes. When immigration reform is again debated in the Senate,  I hope you'll remember what happened in San Francisco.  If your efforts to enact strong and vigorous protection of our borders are to succeed, we must have strong and vigorous laws to protect the country from cities that take the law into their own hands.

Respectfully Submitted,

Arthur Bruzzone

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