Sanctuary for him?

Acquittal Of Undocumented Immigrant In SF Killing Reignites Calls To End Sanctuary Cities

Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, was found not guilty Thursday in the homicide of Kate Steinle, a case that has become a flashpoint for the right in calling for stricter immigration rules.

Garcia Zarate was accused of fatally shooting Steinle in July 2015 when she was walking on Pier 14 in San Francisco with her father. 

The jury acquitted him of murder and manslaughter charges and convicted him of a lesser felony charge of gun possession, reported the San Francisco Chronicle. 

Garcia Zapata, who was homeless, had multiple felony convictions and had been deported five times before Steinle’s death, The New York Times reported. 

He had been released from jail months before the shooting, despite federal immigration requests to hold him for deportation. 

Hours after the verdict, federal immigration officials said he would be deported, according to The Associated Press.

. . . .

While Garcia Zarate admitted he had fired the weapon, he said hitting Steinle was an accident. 

The bullet had ricocheted off the ground and then hit her in the back.

Garcia Zarate had a criminal history including a marijuana charge and several incidents of illegal reentry ― but no violence, reported KQED.

For sanctuary cities like San Francisco, local law enforcement will often only hand over immigrants to Immigration and Customs Enforcement if they are connected to more serious crimes. 

But as a sanctuary city, San Francisco police don’t necessarily have to communicate or comply with ICE requests in such cases ― in an effort to encourage a better relationship between undocumented immigrants and local law enforcement.

And that's what happened in this case.

They refused to hold him for deportation though they knew his history.