The Importance Of Sanctuary Policies

Sanctuary cities have policies that were put in place to stop nonfederal government employees from telling federal government employees that there is an immigrant that is known to be illegal in there region. These sanctuary policies are described in two different ways. One way is known as formal sanctuary policy. This policy is defined as a set of rules or ordinances set by a government that is in the region of that sanctuary city. The policy ordinances are documented and are available for the public to see. If a sanctuary city is under formal policies, it makes it easier for the media and government to identify. In 2004, the formal policy known as “An Order Concerning Access to State Services by All Entitled Maine Residents” is a law that …show more content…
Juan Francisco Lopez- Sanchez is the illegal immigrant who murdered Kate on July 1. Juan has become one of the main reasons for a worldwide debate over sanctuary programs. Juan has been able to enter in the United States at least five times. He has been deported to Mexico several times. Juan Francisco Lopez – Sanchez has just finished serving a federal prison term. Instead of being released to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), he was released to a sanctuary program in San Francisco. Lopez- Sanchez was found with a handgun on him and it was found to belong to a Federal Bureau of Land Management Officer. Juan claims he had only shot one bullet that had hit the deck on the pier, that then bounced off and hit Kate in the back. One hour after the murder of Kate Steinle, San Francisco police department had brought Juan Francisco Lopez – Sanchez into the care of police. The police described Juan as an uncared for man. By the time he was brought in to be questioned about the murder of Kate, he was held in a cell for a total of six hours. The attorneys that represented Juan in court had requested that the jury and judges would get rid of the murder charges of Kate Steinle. His attorneys had requested this because they had believed that the police who had questioned Juan on the day of the murder had held him in a holding cell …show more content…
One of the main reasons why this is a major concern is because of crimes that those found to be illegal immigrants, commit. Several people have called for a halt to sanctuary cites in the United States. One of these persons is now President-Elect Donald Trump. Donald Trump feels that these so-called safe havens are providing a safe environment for the wrong reason. Donald states that he believes that the sanctuary cities are protecting felons who are illegal immigrants. Tim Kaine, democratic vice-presidential nominee, was interviewed back in September this year and when he was interviewed they asked about sanctuary cities in the United States, he stated that Donald Trump was going to go after what he calls “Phantom sanctuary cities”. A recent study by the ICE found that there are at minimum 165 sanctuary programs that have policies in place that put restrictions on working with the law enforcement to enforce immigration laws (Ye, 2016). “ICE can issue an “immigration detainer,” a request to be notified when a “criminal alien” is being released from a state or local agency” (Ye, 2016).” They put this in place to allow the ICE to take the felons in their custody and determine if they fit the idea of deportation. . “Between January 2014 and September 2015, local and state law enforcement agencies declined 18,646 ICE immigration detainer …” (Ye,