Illegal alien and Kathryn Steinle’s alleged murderer, Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, would have been treated in Connecticut exactly as San Francisco treated him. Apparently, this is fine with sanctuary city New Haven Mayor Toni Harp.
According to the Journal Inquirer (JI), on Friday, Harp said that her city will continue to protect illegal aliens despite the horrific murder of Steinle in San Francisco.
Without a history of a violent felony or a court order for his detention, Lopez-Sanchez would not have been detained by state or municipal authorities in Connecticut, state Correction Commissioner Scott Semple said, reported the JI .
Lopez-Sanchez, a five-time deportee and seven-time convicted felon, said in a local ABC affiliate interview that he chose to go to San Francisco because he knew the sanctuary city would not hand him over to immigration officials. San Francisco police did not inform immigration officials when Sanchez’s most recent release occurred in April. The illegal alien allegedly stole a .40-caliber handgun from a federal Bureau of Land Management ranger’s car in June and shot and killed Steinle earlier this month.
Last year, Connecticut enacted a law that bars police from detaining an illegal alien unless that individual is determined to pose specific public safety risks. If the risks are deemed present, police are required to inform federal immigration officials that the illegal alien will be detained. The individual is released, however, if federal officials do not take custody of him within 48 hours.
Semple’s memo to federal immigration officials indicates that Connecticut would follow guidelines similar to what transpired in San Francisco:
Under the revised policy, the Connecticut Department of Correction will no longer enforce ICE detainer requests and administrative warrants solely on the basis of a final order of deportation or removal, unless accompanied by a judicial warrant or past criminal conviction for a violent felony.
As Breitbart News reported Friday, since President Obama took office, “the number of non-citizens Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sought to deport but did not due to the ruling of a judge, requests from the government, or the use of prosecutorial discretion have increased 42 percent.”
As a state, Connecticut has opened its arms to illegal aliens. The cities of Hartford and New Haven have signed on as sanctuary cities with ordinances providing that police do not transfer to immigration officials illegal aliens who have been arrested – or even notify ICE at all about them. The state also enacted a law at the end of last year that allows illegal aliens to obtain driver’s licenses.
“New Haven will continue to welcome new residents from other countries and embrace their positive contributions in our community, all in the spirit of ‘e pluribus unum,’” Harp said. “The city’s ongoing ‘sanctuary’ status reflects a widespread acceptance of diversity in New Haven and respects the distinct jurisdictions administered by the federal and local governments.”