At their weekly Tuesday meeting, the Board of Supervisors voted 10-1 that a request from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to assist federal immigration authorities was not a legal requirement. The decision further reinforces the city's sanctuary protections for undocumented residents.
After two suspects accused of murder and rape in San Francisco were found abroad, homeland security officials told the District Attorney's Office in February that they would only extradite the suspects if the city made an exception to its sanctuary city policies.
The suspects, located in Mexico, are wanted in two separate cases -- one for a domestic violence murder, and the other for the sexual abuse of minors.
The agency said that if or when the suspects are released from custody, they would have to be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, according to the resolution's text passed Tuesday. Complying with those requests would defy the city's sanctuary city ordinance, which was first passed in 1989.
City officials said they do not have to comply with this pressure, arguing that the federal department has enough funds and power to extradite the suspects without imposing a lengthy, controversial process onto the city. The resolution urges DHS to extradite the suspects "without further delay."
In response to the passed ordinance, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins dropped her exception requests on Wednesday. She said she understood how sacred the sanctuary city policy is for the community, and that these protections should not inhibit the federal government from working with the city on pursuing justice.
