This exclusive article was provided by the distinguished Judge John H. Wilson (ret.)
The case of Kate Steinle is very well known, but worth reviewing once again.
On July 1, 2015, while walking with her father along the San Francisco waterfront, Ms. Steinle was shot and killed by illegal alien Jose Garcia Zarate. Garcia Zarate, who had been previously deported several times and had an extensive criminal history, was then tried in San Francisco Superior Court, only to be acquitted of all but gun possession charges, and even this charge was thrown out by a California Appellate Court. To add insult to injury, the Ninth Circuit ruled that the Steinle family could not sue the City of San Francisco for failure to notify ICE before releasing Garcia Zarate from custody prior to the shooting.
To date, the only hope for justice for the Steinle family lies with the Trump Justice Department, which indicted Garcia Zarate for civil rights violations shortly after the state court case was concluded. Garcia Zarate is scheduled for trial in federal court within the month.
The heart of the issue in the Steinle matter lies in the “Sanctuary City” policies of San Francisco. Rather than protect the public from a violent felon who was on American soil in violation of the law, San Francisco, and other havens for illegal aliens, continue to “obstruct immigration enforcement and shield criminals from ICE — either by refusing to or prohibiting agencies from complying with ICE detainers, imposing unreasonable conditions on detainer acceptance, denying ICE access to interview incarcerated aliens, or otherwise impeding communication or information exchanges between their personnel and federal immigration officers.” For a list of Sanctuary Cities, counties and states, see here:
New York City is listed as a Sanctuary City, and has been for years, but this is only the tip of New York’s pro-illegal iceberg. Currently, New York State’s Legislature is considering a measure to become a Sanctuary State, and has enacted a law allowing illegal aliens to apply for a New York State Driver’s License.
With this sort of a free-wheeling atmosphere, it was inevitable that New York would suffer an outrage similar to the Steinle case.
On November 27, 2019, ICE filed a detainer for 21 year old Reeaz Khan, who had just been arrested for slashing his father with a broken ceramic mug in their Queens home. Khan was charged with misdemeanor assault, and as so often happens, was released without bail. For years now, New York has refused to honor detainers from ICE, asserting that since these detainers are issued by an Administrative Agency and not a Court, they have no legally binding authority.
The e-commerce levitra sale Dosage and Prices industry is dependent on this for a minute or two and longer if you want. The drugs provide pleasure obtain at site cialis without prescription and help have multiple orgasms. Vigrx plus are the best male enhancement pills. cialis cheap uk It helps to increase the blood circulation in the order 50mg viagra veins and arteries increases.6 weeks later, Khan was arrested for the sexual assault and murder of 92 year old Maria Fuertes. Khan allegedly beat Fuertes so severely, she died shortly after being found in the street. Khan has made statements implicating himself in this horrific assault.
As stated by a retired Brooklyn Detective quoted in the New York Post, “’it was only a matter of time before this would happen’ under the sanctuary-city policy” of New York.
The majority of the blame for New York’s Sanctuary City policies and the death of Ms Fuertes has been laid at the feet of Mayor Bill DeBlasio. “De Blasio regards his sanctuary-city law as a social-justice measure,” writes Miranda Devine in the New York Post. “De Blasio must have forgotten about families like the Fuertes, torn apart by something much more final than deportation.” But in this instance, the Mayor is more of a follower than a leader.
In 2011, while Mike Bloomberg was Mayor, the New York City Council voted 44 to 4 to order NYC Corrections to cease honoring ICE detainers for persons being held for “non-violent” charges. “’With today’s landmark vote, New York City is showing that we are not afraid to lead when it comes to immigration issues,’ said (then) Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn. ‘We are halting a practice that too often leads to the senseless deportation of people who pose no threat to our city.’”
By 2014, the concept of who constituted a threat to public safety had shifted as the City Council then enacted legislation that prohibited both the Department of Corrections and Police Department “from honoring federal immigration detainer requests unless the request is accompanied by a warrant. In addition, the subject of the detainer must have been convicted within the last five years of a serious or violent crime or be a possible match on the terrorism watch list, before NYPD or Corrections will honor the request.” These laws were also enacted with overwhelming majorities (41-6).
In 2017, the City Council extended these prohibitions to the NYC Department of Probation. “’The City Council has been proud to lead the way in greatly restricting ICE activity in New York City through the removal of ICE officials from DOC facilities and the judicial warrant requirement for deportation requests,’ said (then) Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito.”
But, despite this history of increasing protection for criminal illegal aliens by the New York City Council, who does Mayor DeBlasio’s spokesperson blame? “Fear, hate and attempts to divide are signatures of the Trump Administration, not New York City. We are the safest big city in America because of our policies, not in spite of them.”
The safest big city in America? Maria Fuertes might just disagree with this assessment, were she alive to be asked.
Photo: ICE making an arrest