San Francisco’s policies that make it a “sanctuary city,” has caused the city to soon pay $190,000 in taxpayer dollars to settle a lawsuit against Pedro Figueroa-Zarceno.
Figueroa-Zarceno an illegal immigrant has stated that he was reported to federal immigration authority, although San Francisco has a sanctuary policy in place. CBS News notes, “Pedro Figueroa-Zarceno walked into a police station on Dec. 2, 2015, to recover his stolen car.
When he left the station, he was immediately taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
A document from federal immigration authorities released by his attorneys indicates that a San Francisco police officer directly contacted ICE and told them where to find Figueroa-Zarceno, the man’s attorneys and representatives said.”
A spokesman for the office of San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, John Cote highlighted that there are very “strong” policies in place to protect victims and crimes to be protected from deportation. “San Francisco has strong policies in place to encourage victims and witnesses to report crimes without fear of being deported, which include our sanctuary ordinance.
“These policies are designed to foster respect and trust between law enforcement and residents to ensure our communities are safe.”
“The city, including the Police Department, remain committed to them. This proposed settlement is a fair resolution for all of the parties involved,” he added.
In a news conference with CBS, Figueroa-Zarceno went on to describe the incident, he stated that his 8-year-old child was yelling “Dad! Dad!” as the police arrested him. “I could hear her telling them not to take her dad,” he stated.
Furthermore, CBS has reported, “ICE officials confirmed the detention but would not comment on the released documents.
Zachary Nightingale, Figueroa-Zarceno’s attorney, said the document shows that while he served two days for a DUI in 2012, there were no criminal warrants for Figueroa-Zarceno in the system, only a civil deportation order dating back to 2005.
A judge has since reopened Figueroa-Zarceno’s immigration case after finding that the initial order was given without proper notification, and a new hearing was scheduled for 2019, Nightingale said.”