By The Numbers: 276 ‘Sanctuary Cities’ Released 8,145 Illegal Offenders in Just 8 Months, for a Grand Total of 17,000

The report, titled ‘Ignoring Detainers, Endangering Communities State/local agencies release criminals rather than obey law,’ provided to Secrets, is expected to fuel U.S. anger over sanctuary cities and the murder of Kathryn Steinle.

Paul Bedard reports: Some 276 “sanctuary cities,” nearly 50 percent more than previously revealed, released over 8,000 illegal immigrants with criminal records or facing charges free despite federal requests that they be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation, according to an explosive new report.

“The Obama administration has given sanctuaries free rein to ignore detainers by ending the successful Secure Communities program and replacing it with the Priority Enforcement Program. This new program explicitly allows local agencies to disregard ICE notifications of deportable aliens in their custody by replacing detainers with ‘requests for notification.’

— Jessica M. Vaughan, director of policy Studies for the Center for Immigration Studies

The Center for Immigration Studies, revealing new numbers it received under the Freedom of Information Act, said that those releases from cities that ignored federal demands came over just eight months and are just part of an even larger release of 17,000 illegals with criminal records..

Francisco Sanchez, right, is lead into the courtroom for his arraignment in the shooting death of 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle. (Michael Macor/San Francisco Chronicle via AP, Pool)

“The only truly effective and lasting solution is for Congress to spell out in federal law that local law enforcement agencies must cooperate with ICE by complying with all detainers or face sanctions in the form of disqualification from certain kinds of federal funding.”

— Jessica M. Vaughan

Kathryn Steinle (left), 32, was shot to death, apparently at random, by alleged shooter Francisco Sanchez (right) while walking with her father and a friend along a popular pedestrian pier on the San Francisco waterfront in broad daylight

Author Jessica M. Vaughan, director of policy Studies for the center, also reported that many of those illegals have been rearrested after their release and charged with nearly 7,500 new charges, including child sex abuse.

[Read the full text here, at the Washington Examiner]

[More – Map: Over 200 ‘sanctuary cities’ in 32 states and D.C.]

The report, titled “Ignoring Detainers, Endangering Communities State/local agencies release criminals rather than obey law,” provided to Secrets, is expected to fuel U.S. anger over sanctuary cities and the murder by one freed illegal of a San Francisco woman earlier this month.

“The Obama administration has given sanctuaries free rein to ignore detainers by ending the successful Secure Communities program and replacing it with the Priority Enforcement Program….(read more)

Washington Examiner

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com

Related articles

• Map: Over 200 ‘Sanctuary Cities’ in 32 States (punditfromanotherplanet.com)
• El Paso reacts to San Francisco sanctuary city policy (kfoxtv.com)
• 276 ‘Sanctuary Cities’ let 8,145 Illegal Offenders Free in Just 8 Months (teaparty.org)
• Here’s Why Sanctuary Cities Might Be Even More Dangerous than People Think… (ijreview.com)
• San Francisco’s ‘sanctuary’ policy criticized following deadly shooting (kxan.com)
• Pier 14 shooting: San Francisco status as ‘sanctuary’ criticized (kron4.com)