LAST September 11, 2015, the incumbent mayors of Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Long Beach, and Oakland issued a joint letter addressed to California Senators and Representatives entitled “Opposition to Proposed Federal Funding Cuts for Cities with Sanctuary Ordinances”. They expressed their opposition to “recent proposals in Congress that would withhold funding from cities with so-called sanctuary ordinances” and emphasized that as mayors of some of California’s largest cities, they rely on federal homeland security and public safety funds for the safety of their respective cities.
As you may be aware, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the enforcement arm of the USCIS, usually request cities and counties, through the issuance of an immigration detainers, to keep undocumented aliens in their local jails until ICE officials can take them into custody, even after they are already eligible for release. Around 300 cities and counties in the US no longer honor these requests for immigration detainers. Further, some cities have issued ordinances meant to “shelter” undocumented aliens. San Francisco, for instance, has the “Due Process for All” ordinance which prohibits the further detention of an undocumented alien after he has been eligible for release for custody, unless the alien has a prior violent felony conviction or there is a court warrant.
While not a new issue, “sanctuary cities” or cities with sanctuary ordinances have been the focus of recent debates again lately. The fatal shooting of a 32-year-old lady on July 1, while strolling at the Embarcadero, one of San Francisco’s popular tourist spots, by an undocumented Mexican national, brought once again this issue in the forefront of national news. The victim was strolling with her father when the assailant, with 7 prior felony convictions and deported five times, shot her on the back.
In response to the public outcry, the House of Representatives passed on July 1, a bill to cut federal funding for cities and towns that refuse to comply with federal immigration laws, including federal detention requests for undocumented aliens. That bill is now with the Senate for approval. This move from the House of Representative prompted the issuance of said letter from the CA mayors.
Whatever your position is on the issue, it should be pointed out that the Secretary of Homeland Security which oversees ICE issued a memorandum dated Nov. 20 addressed to the Acting Director of ICE entitled “Policies for the Apprehension, Detention and Removal of Undocumented Immigrants”. In this memorandum, the Secretary instructed that enforcement and removal policies should prioritize undocumented aliens who are threats to national security, public safety, and border security. Three civil immigration enforcement priorities were identified under the memo: Priority 1 – threats to national security, border security, and public safety, Priority 2 – misdemeanants and new immigration violators; and Priority 3 – other immigration violations or those who have been issued final orders of removal. Thus, while there is no guarantee, an undocumented alien not belonging to these 3 enforcement priorities will not be considered a priority for ICE enforcement and/or detention.
If you are contemplating filing any other immigrant or non-immigration application, it is advisable to seek the counsel of an immigration lawyer to guide you on the intricacies of filing for such a petition.
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Atty. Gwendolyn Malaya-Santos is a member of the State Bar of California and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines. To schedule for a free initial in-person consultation, please call Tel. Nos. (213) 284-5984 or (626) 329-8215. Atty. Santos’ office is located at 3450 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1200-105, Los Angeles, CA 90010.
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Information contained in this article does not, nor is it intended to, constitutes legal advice for any specific situation and does not create a lawyer-client relationship. It likewise does not constitute a guarantee, warranty, or prediction regarding the outcome of your legal matter.
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