LEGAL ACTIVISTS OF COLOR
News, Events, Actions and Commentary on law and social justice. Welcome to the official blog of the United People of Color Caucus (TUPOCC) of the National Lawyers Guild.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Police, Feds Set Tone for SF Chronicle Attack of Sanctuary Ordinance

by Carlos Villarreal and Angela Chan, 2008-08-13

Carelessly referencing vague sources and leading with off the cuff remarks by law enforcement, the San Francisco Chronicle and reporter Jaxon Van Derbeken have published a series of damaging articles about juvenile immigrant offenders and the city's sanctuary ordinance. The implication in the series of stories that began to appear on June 29, is that violent felons and crack dealers are taking advantage of the City's Sanctuary Ordinance and specifically a policy at the Juvenile Probation Department that has shielded felons, according to the Chronicle spin, from deportation at taxpayers' expense. A few major facts rarely tempered this incitement of reactionaries: the juvenile court system is very different from the adult criminal courts, the Sanctuary Ordinance never dictated the various tactics used by the Juvenile Probation Department, and the Sanctuary Ordinance doesn't cause violence. To the contrary, the ordinance encourages people to communicate with law enforcement and other government agencies regardless of immigration status.


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