Sanctuary Cities And A San Francisco Shooting

With guest host Michel Martin.

A fatal shooting in San Francisco by an undocumented man – a 7-time felon, deported 5 times – has re-ignited the immigration debate.

Kathryn Steinle was taking in one of San Francisco’s popular tourist sites with her father when a gunshot took her life. It would have been tragic under any circumstances, but when it emerged that her accused killer is an undocumented immigrant who’d been deported time and time again, the tragedy became a political firestorm. And it’s turned the spotlight on so-called sanctuary cities like San Francisco where local officials keep US immigration officials at arms- length. They say the policy makes their cities safer. Critics say it’s the opposite. This hour On Point: a closer look at Sanctuary.
-- Michel Martin

Carla Marinucci, political reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle. (@cmarinucci)

Avideh Moussavian, attorney at the National Immigration Law Center. (@avidehnilc)

Julie Myers Wood, CEO of Guidepost Solutions. Former head of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security. (@myerswood)

San Francisco Chronicle: S.F. pier killing resonating in campaigns, immigration debate — "From the presidential stage to California’s local political contests, it may be accused killer Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, a Mexican citizen with a string of deportations and drug-related felonies in the U.S., who becomes this year’s Willie Horton and shapes the debate over illegal immigration."

CNN: What's a 'sanctuary city,' and why should you care? — "There's no legal definition of a sanctuary city, county or state, and what it means varies from place to place. But jurisdictions that fall under that controversial term — supporters oppose it — generally have policies or laws that limit the extent to which law enforcement and other government employees will go to assist the federal government on immigration matters."

Christian Science Monitor: San Francisco shooting puts scrutiny on big-city 'sanctuary' policies — "Indeed, immigration continues to be one of the most fiercely partisan issues in the nation, with sharp divisions among conservatives and liberals on how to approach to the problems. Last week’s shooting has laid bare the different philosophies about how federal and local officials should or shouldn’t interface, and how cities can best address the issues related to undocumented immigrants. For progressives and other supporters of the decades-long sanctuary movement, the shooting does not change their commitment to what they see as a humanitarian and pragmatic approach."