Will the shooting of an innocent young woman in San Francisco by an undocumented immigrant become a “game-changer” for the immigration debate throughout the United States and by our law-makers?
Before the shooting, many states had been moving toward more liberal policies for the undocumented. These included allowing for state issued identification cards, driver’s licenses, and access to health and education that were not available before. In addition, some cities and states will not honor immigration detainer requests sent by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) to local jails. These are called sanctuary cities.
The perpetrator of the San Francisco shooting was in custody and the local law enforcement officials ignored a request by ICE to detain him further so they could take him into immigration custody. The officials would not honor the request without a warrant, so he was released.
Now the Republicans and others who advocate harsher immigration laws are calling for sanctions for states and cities who ignore detainer requests by ICE. Some have suggested pulling federal funding also. Those who focus on immigration enforcement as opposed to benefits feel that their hand is strengthened by this unfortunate incident.
The strategy proposed by the enforcement group includes focusing on finding undocumented immigrants and deporting them. Some states, as opposed to sanctuary states, actually have passed laws allowing local police and law enforcement to question people about their immigration status if they have a reasonable suspicion that they may be present in the United States without authorization.
The Democrats and those who support undocumented immigrants point to the fact that the person who shot the woman in San Francisco actually found the gun and claims it was discharged accidentally. It turned out that the gun belonged to a federal agent and it has not been revealed how the gun ended up in the hands of the shooter. Even presidential candidate Hillary Clinton stated that she still believes that sanctuary cities can help further public safety and she has defended these types of policies for years.
There are clearly opposing views on the undocumented immigrant issue. Still some Republicans worry that they will alienate Hispanic voters if they push too hard against immigration reform. Whatever the position, it is clear that this incident highlights the need for a bi-partisan push towards fixing the immigration systems and laws of the United States.
