San Francisco Awards Illegal $190K For Breaking Sanctuary Policy

If it’s not bad enough that sanctuary cities simply allow illegal immigrants to break the law, on Wednesday San Francisco chose to actually award one man for breaking the law – to the tune of $190,000:

San Francisco taxpayers could soon pay $190,000 in a lawsuit settlement with an undocumented immigrant who claimed he was reported to federal immigration authorities in violation of the city’s sanctuary city ordinance, the City Attorney’s office confirms to KPIX5.

The settlement is expected to be confirmed by San Francisco supervisors in future hearings.

Uh, what?

san francisco sanctuary cities

Apparently Pedro Figueroa-Zarceno, the “undocumented immigrant,” was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after recovering his stolen car from the police station on Dec. 2:

A document from federal immigration authorities released by his attorneys indicates that a San Francisco police officer directly contacted ICE and told them where to find Figueroa-Zarceno, the man’s attorneys and representatives said Wednesday.

Imagine that – a police officer enforcing federal law. But like all other sanctuary cities, San Francisco thinks it’s above federal law:

The city approved a Sanctuary City policy in 1989 prohibiting city officials from enforcing immigration laws in most cases as a way to encourage immigrant communities to trust and cooperate with police.

A second 2013 ordinance, Due Process for All, prohibits San Francisco law enforcement from detaining people on behalf of immigration authorities for deportation unless they are wanted for a serious crime.

All of this is, quite frankly, a load of bull. The idea that sanctuary city policies encourage immigrants to “trust and cooperate with police” is tenuous. If anything, sanctuary city policies likely encourage illegals to break even more laws because they already know police are turning a blind eye to them. And what kind of sense does it make to wait until an illegal kills someone – say, in a drunk driving accident – before lodging a detainer against them?

Speaking of driving drunk, Figueroa-Zarceno was charged with a DUI in 2012; he served two days in prison. ICE also found a civil deportation order lodged against him in 2005. But he remained in the country, and now taxpayers are on the hook for $190,000 just because San Francisco doesn’t want to cooperate with federal law.

John Coté, a spokesman for the Office of San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, called the proposed $190,000 “a fair resolution for all of the parties involved.” But it’s not. It’s a reward for a criminal, and an unfair resolution for law-abiding American taxpayers.

Are you fed up with sanctuary city policies? Share your thoughts below!

By Ann

Ann is a conservative political blogger whose work has appeared on Bleacher Report and America Liberty PAC. Nothing angers... More about Ann

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