Open Letter to the California Assembly re: SB 54

August 28, 2017
 
Dear Assembly members:

Soon you will be voting on Senate Bill 54. This bill is nothing more than a fraud being perpetrated on the law-abiding people of California as another measure to increase public safety.

In 2009, then mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsom, instituted a policy that essentially allowed those here illegally to drive without licenses. Despite overwhelming statistical evidence and the rank and file police saying how dangerous this would be, Newsom made a political decision and fluffed off facts and reality by claiming, “This issue is being blown out of proportion.” (7,500 people a year are killed by unlicensed drivers.)

Almost a year to the day this illegal policy was enacted, Roberto Galo, who entered the country illegally, drove back and forth over my son’s body three times — killing him. Just a few months prior, Galo had been caught driving the wrong way on a one-way street with no license or insurance. Those charges were dismissed.
While not what we normally think of as a sanctuary city, my son’s death was definitely attributed to sanctuary policy. If you’re here illegally all the laws don’t apply.

Quite frankly it is ludicrous to think that protecting criminals will enhance public safety.

Since AB 109, Propositions 47 and 57 and The Trust Act became law, crime in California has exploded by double digits for three years in a row. But who could possibly imagine that protecting criminals would result in additional crimes?
While the supporters of this bill claim it will allow those here illegally to report crimes without fear of deportation, a dubious claim at best, what good is it when so few of the criminals are imprisoned?  And, if they are, this bill protects them from deportation when they are released.

In 2016, there were 54,651 illegal aliens incarcerated at any given time during the year, according to SCAAP data.  That number doesn’t represent the number of crimes but the number of criminals. According to the 2010 GAO study on “Criminal Alien Crime” the average number of crimes committed Per inmate, it was 8 crimes. Those numbers are validated by the FBI annual report on cleared crimes. In 2015, the last year numbers were available except for murder at 61% and aggravated assault at 54%, all other main crime groups had clearance rates below 50%. Five of the groupings out of ten were below 25%. Less than half of all violent crimes (46%) were ever solved and only 37.8% of all rapes resulted in an arrest and conviction.

Over the past 10 years there were 1,040,692 illegal alien criminals incarcerated in California prisons and jails. While each year consists of unique records, that doesn’t apply over the ten-year period so some of these numbers represent repeat offenders or individuals serving multiple year terms. Regardless, why would anyone believe that protecting these people and shielding them from deportation could possibly enhance public safety?

Possibly the same people who believed that granting driver’s licenses to those here illegally would make the roads safer. Despite not one shred of evidence to support that claim, the California Legislature overwhelmingly passed AB 60. Has anyone in this body bothered to check how much safer the roads have become? I didn’t think so. Traffic fatalities have increased by 19% – or more specifically – over 700 more people killed in the first two years since the law was enacted.

Now you want to betray your oath of office and the law-abiding people of California by protecting criminal illegal aliens from deportation. Your first obligation is to protect the lives of California citizens and legal residents. Not one of those people’s lives, safety or even personal possessions should be jeopardized by any effort to protect those here illegally, particularly those who have committed additional crimes since their arrival. Anything less is a violation of your oath of office.

Although crimes are committed every day by those illegal aliens protected by The Trust Act (what a misnomer) maybe you haven’t heard of one of the most recent.

Veronica Cabrera Ramirez did just what pro sanctuary advocates told her to do. When she was the victim of domestic violence on August 2^nd of this year, she called the police. The police arrested Nery Israel Estrada-Margos who had been previously deported. (It’s possible that he was deported three times, but that is not yet confirmed.)

Estrada – Margos was placed in county jail but still officers obtained an emergency protective order against him. In a half-hearted attempt to cooperate, ICE was notified and was going to pick him up. He was released 12 minutes later before ICE could arrive and about two weeks later, he murdered Ms. Ramirez.

It’s tragic that we can’t ask Veronica Cabrera Ramirez if she regrets making that call to the police but had she survived I bet she would never do it again now realizing that sanctuary policy is designed to protect criminals.

If this Assembly was doing its job you would be voting to outlaw sanctuary cities and sanctuary policy throughout California.

Do not amend this SB 54 — kill it before it has a chance to kill others.

Sincerely,

Don Rosenberg