SEC. 12H.1. CITY AND COUNTY OF REFUGE.
It is hereby affirmed that the City and County of San Francisco is a City and County of Refuge.
SEC. 12H.2. USE OF CITY FUNDS PROHIBITED.
No department, agency, commission, officer or employee of the City and County of San Francisco shall use any City funds or resources to assist in the enforcement of federal immigration law or to gather or disseminate information regarding the immigration status of individuals in the City and County of San Francisco unless such assistance is required by federal or State statute, regulation or court decision. The prohibition set forth in this Chapter shall include, but shall not be limited to:
(a) Assisting or cooperating, in one's official capacity, with any Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) investigation, detention, or arrest procedures, public or clandestine, relating to alleged violations of the civil provisions of the federal immigration law.
(b) Assisting or cooperating, in one's official capacity, with any investigation, surveillance or gathering of information conducted by foreign governments, except for cooperation related to an alleged violation of City and County, State or federal criminal laws.
(c) Requesting information about, or disseminating information regarding, the immigration status of any individual, or conditioning the provision of services or benefits by the City and County of San Francisco upon immigration status, except as required by federal or State statute or regulation, City and County public assistance criteria, or court decision.
(d) Including on any application, questionnaire or interview form used in relation to benefits, services or opportunities provided by the City and County of San Francisco any question regarding immigration status other than those required by federal or State statute, regulation or court decision. Any such questions existing or being used by the City and County at the time this Chapter is adopted shall be deleted within sixty days of the adoption of this Chapter.
The Board of Supervisors meeting agenda illuminates the intent behind the amendment:
Ordinance amending the San Francisco Administrative Code by amending Sections 12H.2, 12H.2-1, and 12H.3 to allow City law enforcement officers and employees to report information regarding the immigration status of a juvenile to any state or federal agency when the juvenile has been adjudicated to be a ward of the court on the ground of felony conduct, the court makes a finding of probable cause after the District Attorney directly files felony criminal charges against the minor, or the juvenile court determines that the minor is unfit to be tried in juvenile court and the superior court makes a finding of probable cause; and to update references to the federal agency responsible for enforcing federal immigration laws.
While this is an interesting development in itself (and in relation to how the entire issue of undocumented immigrants has played in the context of overburdening the criminal justice and correctional system), it becomes particularly interesting when contrasting it with the recent news re marijuana legalization: Why, only yesterday, in a different context, we saw the federal criminal justice apparatus prepared to step away from state affairs, unless state agents were violating their own laws.
The question is, will the feds be as forgiving of undocumented immigrant delinquents as they might be of medical marijuana. Seemingly, in both situations a local entity is creating policy, through legislation, which violates federal rules. However, one indication that these are two very different matters, criminalization-wise, is Mayor Newsom's stance on the subject. The mayor's spokesman, Nathan Ballard, is quoted in the Chron as saying that "the Campos bill isn't worth the paper it's written on -- it's unenforceable and he knows that".
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