Illegal youth issue goes to attorney general
Heather Knight, Chronicle Staff Writer

Thursday, August 7, 2008

California Attorney General Jerry Brown could be dragged into the controversy over San Francisco's now-abandoned effort to protect illegal immigrant juvenile offenders from deportation.

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday night to petition Brown's help getting a 12-month tally of San Francisco youth offenders who were placed in group homes in that county.

Gareth Lacey, a spokesman for Brown, said the office has received San Bernardino's request. "We will review this matter very carefully," he said.

San Francisco juvenile probation officials had been protecting the youth, most of them from Honduras and arrested for dealing crack, from federal authorities.

The young offenders were flown at first to their home country on the city's dime. When federal officials learned of the practice and objected to it, San Francisco officials sent the juveniles to Southern California group homes at the cost of $7,000 a month per youth.

Twelve of the juveniles fled the group homes and many of them are at large.

San Bernardino County supervisors say their juvenile probation department wasn't notified that some of the San Francisco youths were being sent to group homes in the county. The officials also want to know how much money the escaped youths may cost their county in case they decide to bill San Francisco for the expense.

Mayor Gavin Newsom has reversed the city's policy and federal authorities are now being notified when undocumented youth are arrested.

Nathan Ballard, Newsom's press secretary, said Wednesday that San Bernardino officials were grandstanding and that San Francisco probation officials have "already provided San Bernardino County with all the pertinent information they're entitled to."

E-mail Heather Knight at hknight@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page B - 3 of the San Francisco Chronicle

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