Immigrant Kids Caught in Political Crossfire

Board of Supervisors vote to overturn mayor's changes to Sanctuary City ordinance.

By JACKSON WEST

Updated 4:45 PM PST, Wed, Oct 21, 2009

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San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom can't afford to appear soft on immigration now that he's running for governor.

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San Francisco is a city that welcomes immigrants from all over the world, and protects even undocument immigrants with its landmark Sanctuary City ordinance.

Sanctuary City bars city employees from aiding federal immigration officials, except in cases where undocumented immigrants have been convicted of felonies.

However, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom had changed the ordinance to allow law enforcement to report immigrants merely accused of a felony to federal officials for possible deportation.

In an 8-2 vote, a veto-proof majority of the Board of Supervisors voted to amend the ordinance to make sure that juveniles merely accused will should not be referred to immigration authorities.

However, the mayor's office will continue to ask local officials to turn over juvenile immigrants suspected of a crime, and of being undocumented, to the feds based on a recommendation from the City Attorney's office.

Supporters of the Board's amendment say that it will preserve the notion of "innocent until proven guilty," and argue that making someone merely accused of a crime face possible deportation short-circuits due process protections.

Jackson West is no friend of la migra.

Copyright NBC Local Media

First Published: Oct 21, 2009 2:27 PM PST

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0 Comments

{"totSize":4,"payload_type":"json","status":"1","results":[{"anonName":null,"pathToMedia":"391809_65285337","adminTags":null,"views":345,"createdBy":10176539,"createdByPathToPhoto":"116995/icons/defaultMember_116995_portrait.jpg","assocMediaId":null,"mediaName":"Immigrant Kids Caught in Political Crossfire","parentThreadId":null,"mediaId":2525403,"tags":null,"anonSiteUrl":null,"assocMediaType":null,"createdAt":"21 Oct 2009 23:56:47 GMT","anonEmail":null,"isVisible":true,"approved":true,"numComments":4,"reviewed":true,"createdByUsername":"CanYouBelieveIt","pathToPreview":"","mediaType":"EXTERNALMEDIA","commentId":"1109307","subject":"","averageRating":0,"body":"enough of the 'undocumented' nonsense. If they broke the laws to get here ,,,, DUH,,, they are ILLEGALLY here. What part of this don't the puny minds of this hapless city get? They are cheats - they cheated their way into this country to get ahead of the law-abiding immigrants who go through the proper channels and paperwork which are in place to allow them legal entry. Furthermore, the S.F. Board of Supervisors should be arrested and jailed by the Feds for passing legislation in the city that is contrary to U.S. immigration regs. Are murderers 'homicide challenged'? Enough of this 'undocumented' double-speak from the weak-minded extreme left. "},{"anonName":null,"pathToMedia":"391809_65285337","adminTags":null,"views":345,"createdBy":9682700,"createdByPathToPhoto":"116995/icons/defaultMember_116995_portrait.jpg","assocMediaId":null,"mediaName":"Immigrant Kids Caught in Political Crossfire","parentThreadId":null,"mediaId":2525403,"tags":null,"anonSiteUrl":null,"assocMediaType":null,"createdAt":"22 Oct 2009 00:45:15 GMT","anonEmail":null,"isVisible":true,"approved":true,"numComments":4,"reviewed":true,"createdByUsername":"Brittanicus","pathToPreview":"","mediaType":"EXTERNALMEDIA","commentId":"1109570","subject":"","averageRating":0,"body":"Obviously yet another travesty of our Immigration laws. What a laugh. We have no enforcement? Its all a facade, specially in SANCTUARY CITIES like San Francisco and Los Angeles. We cannot expect even any enforcement From Dem's or to be truthful Republicans. A few honest politicians try, but once the majority they reach Washington they either succumb to greed or the limitless corruption there. Even the state assemblies, particularly in Sacramento is overflowing with corruption and sleaze. Top of the corruption in our capitol is Senator Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Janet Napolitano who run the roost, for the rest of the gang. It's a joke they represent the American people. They have been brought and paid for the open border morons. Harry Reid is unlikely to be re-elected in 2010? Anybody want to take a guess why one of the major reasons, California is still teetering on the edge of insolvency? The illegal alien occupation and the abuse of massive government handouts? See NUMBERSUSA. Read about Corruption in Washington at JUDICIAL WATCH. Call your Senator or Representative at 202-224-3121. Jam the switchboard."},{"anonName":null,"pathToMedia":"391809_65285337","adminTags":null,"views":345,"createdBy":7918844,"createdByPathToPhoto":"116995/icons/defaultMember_116995_portrait.jpg","assocMediaId":null,"mediaName":"Immigrant Kids Caught in Political Crossfire","parentThreadId":null,"mediaId":2525403,"tags":null,"anonSiteUrl":null,"assocMediaType":null,"createdAt":"22 Oct 2009 16:41:47 GMT","anonEmail":null,"isVisible":true,"approved":true,"numComments":4,"reviewed":true,"createdByUsername":"anonymous_user","pathToPreview":"","mediaType":"EXTERNALMEDIA","commentId":"1113524","subject":"","averageRating":0,"body":"Know the law before you attempt to tout it. @ CanYouBelieveIt: People who come here ARE undocumented and NOT illegal for a reason. It is NOT a crime to come here. It's a civil violation. It's akin to jay walking. So before you challenge the "puny minds" of this city, perhaps you should check your own narrow, uneducated mind. All people who come here are NOT cheats. And I'd hardly call getting paid less than minimum wage and exploited for their labor, "getting ahead" of law-abiding immigrants. Do you have any idea of how hard it is to legally come to this country? No. You obviously don't. Further, even if one uses the proper channels there is no guarantee you will be granted entry here. No, not because you are an unqualified candidate but because the process in your home country is fraught with corruption. And because the applicant is not a citizen, there is no right for recourse. So, only those who can payoff the people on their end, get in "legally". Welcome to the USA! You have no idea what you are talking about when you say the SF Board should be jailed. Learn the law before you quote Fox News. You'd see that much of what you learn from tv is wrong. Murderers? Really? If you understood anything legal, you'd understand that murderers (that is, those that are convicted) are all up for removal (which is the proper term for the antiquated "deportation"). This is talking about those just ACCUSED of crimes, even misdemeanors. If you were a true American, you'd understand this is a travesty of justice for everyone - not just citizens. Ask yourself this: Are you really against this entire policy or do you resent one particular migrant community over another? When you see someone who has a different skin color than you, do you catch yourself assuming they are illegal? If you say yes, you probably don't really care about the legislation but have a bigger issue. Get help."},{"anonName":null,"pathToMedia":"391809_65285337","adminTags":null,"views":345,"createdBy":13799188,"createdByPathToPhoto":"116995/icons/defaultMember_116995_portrait.jpg","assocMediaId":null,"mediaName":"Immigrant Kids Caught in Political Crossfire","parentThreadId":null,"mediaId":2525403,"tags":null,"anonSiteUrl":null,"assocMediaType":null,"createdAt":"22 Oct 2009 16:49:53 GMT","anonEmail":null,"isVisible":true,"approved":true,"numComments":4,"reviewed":true,"createdByUsername":"DB8NG1","pathToPreview":"","mediaType":"EXTERNALMEDIA","commentId":"1113613","subject":"","averageRating":0,"body":"Kudos to the SF Board for recognizing the law! No one, regardless of citizenship status, should be turned over to immigration officials under an accusation! And against kids, who had no choice but to come here? What are they to do when they get back to their 'home' country? What if they've been here since infancy and have no connection to their country of origin? It's a shame that Newsom is attempting to bow to the right in his bid for the Governorship. This is one more example of how a once good politician tosses his values aside for more power. I'm no longer a Newsom fan."}],"error":"","totPages":1}