Death of San Francisco Woman Leads to Bill on Deporting Felons

By Kurt Chirbas
August 28, 2015
The Los Angeles Times

Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez is accusing of killing 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle.

Republican state lawmakers on Thursday introduced legislation to restrict local law enforcement agencies from seeking custody of accused criminals scheduled for deportation, a response to the death of San Francisco woman allegedly killed by Mexican national who had been deported five times.
 
The measure, by Sen. Bob Huff (R- Diamond Bar) and Sen. Shannon Runner (R-Antelope Valley), would require a local enforcement agency to have an outstanding felony warrant for an individual before it could seek custody from federal immigration officials. The local agency also would be required to confirm that either the district attorney or attorney general planned to prosecute.

If these criteria are not met, the individual would remain in federal detention. 

I propose two new rules: Deported illegal alien re-enters USA? Misdemeanor offense. Deported criminal illegal alien re-enters USA? Felony. Rather than a vote down, I'd love to hear why these proposals are unreasonable.

“The state of California is not in the business of rescuing convicted felons from the federal government,” Runner said at a news conference Thursday to support the measure, SB 57.

Runner said the measure is necessary because the man accused of shooting Kathryn Steinle on a San Francisco pier, Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, was transferred from federal to local custody because of a decades-old bench warrant in a marijuana case. When prosecutors decided not to pursue to the case, Lopez-Sanchez was released from custody.