Deportation policies reassessed after murder in San Francisco, CA

22News explains the illegal immigrant policies enforced here in western Massachusetts.

By David McKay
Published: July 7, 2015, 6:00 pm
Updated: July 7, 2015, 7:08 pm

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) – Deportation policies are being reassessed across the nation after a young woman was allegedly murdered by an illegal immigrant in San Francisco, California last week.

The goal of the Secure Communities Act was to detain dangerous criminal aliens longer than a person normally would be for 48 hours, but many communities nationwide have chosen not to comply with those federal requests.

32-year-old Kathryn Steinle was shot while walking down a popular tourist spot in San Francisco last week. In a jailhouse interview Francicso Sanchez admitted he shot her to death by accident while stoned on sleeping pills. Sanchez said he went back to San Francisco despite seven felonies and being deported five times to Mexico because he knew city policy required him to be released from jail rather than turning him over to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Communities across the nation have taken similar policies up for undocumented citizens.

The Northampton Police Department does not honor or enforce any detainer requests from theImmigration and Customs Enforcement agency that are non-criminal in nature.

In 2011 Northampton voted not to use the threat of deportation as leverage against victims, witnesses or suspects.

Harry Azmitia, of Florence says policies should be adjusted, “If they’re criminals. If they have a criminal history obviously they should definitely be deported and put in some database.”

Northampton police can help immigrant victims of crime apply for a temporary visa that allows them to stay in the country.

Craig Shoen, of Southampton told 22News, “You want to have an open door policy for them to be able to be transparent to the police and whatnot, but at the same time they are hiding something and they are illegal immigrants. So I think it is the police duty to report that.”

Holyoke, Somerville, and Boston are similar in police department practices not to comply with ICE requests to hold immigrants.

In most circumstances regarding and undocumented immigrant it is primarily done on a case-by-case basis.

Click here for the Northampton Police Department’s policies regarding undocumented citizens.

http://wwlp.com/2015/07/07/deportati...san-francisco/