San Francisco’s newly minted sheriff said his officers won’t help federal authorities deport undocumented immigrants despite increasing pressure from the Trump administration to crack down on people living illegally in U.S. sanctuary cities.
Paul Miyamoto, California’s first Asian American sheriff, said going after undocumented immigrants seeking solace is not a priority.
“Our department is not involved in immigration enforcement,” he told KTVU2. “We feel that it is a federal matter, and our realm of interest is public safety, and you can’t really have a safe community if the community members are afraid to come to us to report crimes.”
He added that he’s not aware of the city ever turning someone in custody over to federal authorities and that he’s not starting now.
The comments come as the Trump administration announced it was deploying members from its law enforcement tactical units serving on the southern border to sanctuary cities across the United States. The move is an escalation in the bitter battle between Trump and cities like San Francisco, Chicago and New York that have refused to work with federal immigration officials.
ICE’s acting director Matthew Albence said the deployment is a necessary response to policies adopted by sanctuary cities. – READ MORE
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