San Francisco Board of Supervisors to Vote on Strengthening Sanctuary City Law

San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors is set to vote Tuesday on an ordinance tightening the city’s sanctuary city law. Introduced by Supervisor John Avalos, the measure would prohibit local law enforcement from responding, except in very limited cases, to requests from federal immigration officials for an inmate’s personal information or release date. Supporters say that the change is necessary following findings earlier this year that police violated the sanctuary city law by releasing San Francisco resident Pedro Figueroa-Zarceno to federal immigration agents. Critics say that local agencies should have greater latitude to cooperate with federal authorities. We discuss the proposed legislation and how it might impact the city’s immigration policies.