San Francisco Board Of Supervisors Doubles Down on Sanctuary City Status

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution reaffirming their 35 year old status as a sanctuary city on Tuesday, despite a growing number of cities in the state rejecting sanctuary laws.

Currently in California, the entire state has “sanctuary” protections. Passed in 2017 and signed into law in 2018 by Governor Jerry Brown, Senate Bill 54 prohibits state and local law enforcement agencies in California from assisting federal immigration authorities. By not allowing state law enforcement money or manpower being used for immigration enforcement, it in effect created a sanctuary for illegal immigrants who were arrested. While they can still be punished under California law, SB 54 halted or delayed outright deportation.

The election of Donald Trump in November prompted many cities and counties to create their own sanctuary city or county laws, including San Diego County and the city of Los Angeles. In addition, the state “Trump-proofed” the existing sanctuary laws, making it more difficult for ICE to get any kind of local help.

However, many cities in California decided to go the opposite way, looking to either be legally exempt from sanctuary laws, or reversing earlier laws the city passed to “de-sanctuary” themselves. Since November, the most prominent city to do this is Huntington Beach, which became a non-sanctuary city last week week shortly after President Trump’s inauguration.

At the federal level, Trump signed seven executive orders pertaining to illegal immigration on his first day in office, undoing many Biden-era policies and going after birthright citizenship. While many of the orders were immediately challenged in the courts, with Attorney General Rob Bonta even attaching himself to some of the suits, they nonetheless showed where the second Trump administration stood on the illegal immigration issue and the direction further policies would go.

While many cities broke away with state policy, others reaffirmed their sanctuary status. San Francisco, whose sanctuary policy dates back to the late 1980s when it was first passed as a reaction to Reagan era immigration policies, became the latest to reaffirm their sanctuary status on Tuesday when the “Reaffirming San Francisco’s Commitment to the Sanctuary City Ordinance” was passed unanimously by all 11 Supervisors. Supervisors noted on Tuesday of a growing effort in the city and county to get rid of sanctuary protections, but nonetheless voted those voices down.

“Factions in this country and this city want to see us go back on our promise to immigrant families that San Francisco is a place where they can provide a better future for their kids. This resolution affirms that our City is not going back, and that we stand by our immigrant communities no matter who is President,” said Supervisor Jackie Fielder on Tuesday. “San Francisco has been a Sanctuary City since 1989, when it enacted San Francisco Administrative Code Chapter 12H “Sanctuary Ordinance,” in response to attacks on Central American immigrants under the Reagan Administration. We proudly recognize that this was the first such ordinance in the country, and since then, hundreds of cities have adopted their own sanctuary ordinances, often modeled after ours.

“In the first week of the new federal administration, there have been incidents of increased enforcement, causing a ripple of fear in the community. Today’s action by the Board of Supervisors, and the press conference with City leaders earlier in the day in which the Mayor, Supervisors, SFPD, SFUSD Superintendent, labor leaders and community advocates, show a strong signal of unity, reaffirming the City’s commitment to support immigrant families.”

Sanctuary laws

Supervisors haven’t been the only lawmakers in the city to reaffirm sanctuary policies since Trump took office last week. Mayor Daniel Lurie has also backed San Francisco being a sanctuary city, saying that the city stands with immigrants in the city.

“Over the last several days, I’ve spoken to many of the people here and our community leaders. I have heard that fear and know we are in a challenging moment right now,” explained Lurie. “As mayor, I want everyone here, everyone and across our city to hear this directly from me. In San Francisco, we value our immigrant communities. We recognize your contributions to our city, and we stand with you.”

SFPD Chief Bill Scott likewise reaffirmed support for the sanctuary law.

“I’m going to repeat what our city attorney said. Immigration enforcement is the federal government’s job. It is not the responsibility of the SFPD or any of our state or local governments,” added Scott.

However, others in the city are upset with San Francisco leaders backing state measures. Many Asian immigrant groups have been leading voices against the laws, saying that the legal pathway is the right one and that illegal immigrants are criminals.

“Many of us had to wait years before being approved to come over,” said Phan Nguyen, who immigrated legally from Vietnam several decades ago to San Francisco, to the Globe Tuesday. “The immigration process is tough, but you’ll never forget that first day that you become an American citizen. You’ll never forget voting for the first time. But the process is there for a reason, and it’s only become more important since September 11th.

“A lot of us don’t want to block people from getting in, but simply want the proper steps to be taken so people seeking a better life can come here. You skip the process, and you don’t integrate in. If you aren’t here legally, you miss out on all the benefits. Plus, if you are an American citizen, you’re protected and served by the U.S. government. If you’re here illegally, you can be thrown out back to your home country. Ask any Vietnamese immigrant how they feel about that. Chinese immigrant. Especially if they could have been caught illegally in the 60s or 70s and sent back.

“What the Supervisors passed today may speak for them, but it doesn’t speak for all of us. A lot of San Franciscans don’t like these things they pass.”