http://www.politico.com/...
More political fall out after the unfortunate murder of a young white woman by a Mexican national in San Francisco. Sadly, her death was used by politicians in both parties who are running for president to condemn what they call "sanctuary cities." The politicians playing the demonize immigrants game included Jeb Bush, Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton.
Sanctuary cities are better described as community trust policies where local law enforcement agencies decide how to best create working and trusting relations with immigrant communities. This lack of community trust is what allowed hundreds of sexual assault cases in Arizona to go unreported, unsolved and ignored under Sheriff Joe Arpaio's watch.
Senator Feinstein is the latest politician to get headlines and curry favor by attacking immigrants. She is planning to introduce legislation that will punish local communities who don't comply with ICE detainers - That of course fosters huge distrust in immigrant communities.
Immigrant-rights advocates generally oppose policies that call on local law enforcement officials to help carry out federal immigration laws. Doing so, they argue, prevents undocumented immigrants from coming forward to report crimes as witnesses or victims.
But Feinstein — an influential senior senator, as well as a former San Francisco mayor — is becoming a roadblock for activists.
The ACLU has opposed anti-immigrant legislation being considered in both the House and Senate. In its letter to the House, the ACLU noted that "Local police understand that their core mission is to protect public safety, and understandably oppose any federally imposed requirements that would divert them from this goal and force them to comply with immigration detainers—particularly given the constitutional concerns that federal courts have raised with that practice. Law enforcement leaders from the Major Cities Chiefs Association to the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing have acknowledged that promoting trust between local law enforcement officials and the communities they serve builds cooperation and is central to their core mission of protecting public safety."
For more, go to https://www.aclu.org/...
Senator Feinstein, Donald Trump, Hilary Clinton and Jeb Bush should be reminded of this and be vocally condemned for their anti-immigrant statements which have turned this into a firestorm.