Abuse victims face deportation if found in San Francisco's ICE database

By: Katie Worth 01/24/11 4:00 AM
Reporter

A woman calls police because she is the victim of a domestic violence incident. Police arrive, but the attacker accuses the woman of being the aggressor. Unable to sort out blame, police arrest both people.

Charges are dropped against the woman, but because of a new federal program that The City has been forced to participate in, her fingerprints are sent through a federal database.

Federal immigration officials find out she is an undocumented immigrant who they have been trying to deport and demand the sheriff keep her in custody.

Within weeks, a victim of domestic violence is being deported because she reported the incident to police.

That precise scenario has played out at least three times in recent months in Northern California, according to Angela Chan, a San Francisco police commissioner and immigration attorney. She and other local law enforcement officials worry such cases will deter the reporting of domestic violence by undocumented immigrants.

And it appears there is no solution. Sheriff Michael Hennessey has attempted to opt out of the federal Secure Communities program, which since June has required his office to turn over every fingerprint taken to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Although there was hope new California Attorney General Kamala Harris could find a legal way for the department to not participate, Hennessey said last week his office has been informed there is no legal way to opt out.

The program conflicts with San Francisco’s long-standing sanctuary ordinance, which has protected undocumented immigrants who are arrested but not charged, or only charged with a misdemeanor.

Also, Hennessey expressed frustration with the way the program has been implemented.

“It’s just been one disaster after another in terms of how they’ve rolled this out,â€