Since the 1980s, many US cities, including San Francisco, have instituted “sanctuary” policies that prevent city workers from helping federal immigration officials identify and possibly deport people without immigration papers.
But with an undocumented immigrant accused of fatally shooting California resident Kathryn Steinle last week, apparently at random as she walked with her father in a popular San Francisco waterfront area, the nation’s mostly blue-state and big-city sanctuary policies have once again come under fire.
Most major US cities have either passed ordinances or instituted executive orders keeping municipal employees and police from assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in efforts to investigate or arrest illegal immigrants. San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Washington, and other cities also offer such immigrants the chance to get an official municipal ID – often the key to get a bank account, sign a lease, or even apply for city services.
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