
The last bipartisan U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform wrangled with the hot topic of Illegal Immigration for six years. President Clinton appointed former congresswoman and Democratic icon Barbara Jordan as its chair. Jordan came from humble beginnings to become a lawyer and the first Southern black woman elected to the House of Representatives.
A DEMOCRAT, she was a leader in the civil rights movement, a professor of ethics, a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and a world-class orator (two of her speeches are considered among the greatest of the 20th century). Her appointment gave the commission instant credibility. According to Jordan, she believed her responsibility as the head of the commission was to restore credibility to the U.S. immigration system. On the issue of illegal immigration, Jordan was very clear and succinct:
Unlawful immigration is unacceptable. Those who should not be here will be required to leave.
I wonder what Rep. Jordan would think of her beloved Democratic Party, now that they have embraced and are welcoming the same illegality, which she was so clear about ?
And, how would she feel about the fact that innocent Americans, like Kate Steinle, are being murdered with impunity by these uninvited guests?
FoxNews.com reports that
Jose Ines Garcia Zarate was found not guilty Thursday of murdering Kate Steinle on Pier 14 in San Francisco in July 2015 in a case that sparked a heated national debate over illegal immigration and so-called sanctuary cities.
Zarate was acquitted of first and second degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. He also was found not guilty of assault with a semi-automatic weapon. He was found guilty of possessing a firearm by a felon. The jury had deliberated for six days.
Steinle was walking with her father and a family friend in July 2015 when she was shot, collapsing into her father’s arms. Zarate had been released from a San Francisco jail about three months before the shooting, despite a request by federal immigration authorities to detain him for deportation.
San Francisco is a sanctuary city, with local law enforcement officials barred from cooperating with federal immigration authorities. President Trump has threatened to withhold federal funding to cities with similar immigration policies, but a federal judge in California permanently blocked his executive order last week.
In a response to the verdict, Attorney General Jeff Sessions released a statement saying that despite California’s attempt at a murder conviction, Zarate was able to walk away with only a firearm possession conviction because he was not turned over by San Francisco to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“When jurisdictions choose to return criminal aliens to the streets rather than turning them over to federal immigration authorities, they put the public’s safety at risk,” the statement said. “San Francisco’s decision to protect criminal aliens led to the preventable and heartbreaking death of Kate Steinle.”
“San Francisco’s policy of refusing to honor ICE detainers is a blatant threat to public safety and undermines the rule of law. This tragedy could have been prevented if San Francisco had turned the alien over to ICE, as we requested, instead of releasing him back onto the streets,” ICE Deputy Director Tom Homan reacted.
Upon leaving the courtroom, representatives from both sides spoke to reporters. Defense Attorney Matt Gonzalez offered his condolences to the Steinle family and said the outcome of the case did not make what happened in 2015 any less terrible.
Public Defender Jeff Adachi also released a statement saying Zarate was “extremely relieved” by the outcome and that while Steinle’s death “was a horrible tragedy,” it was used as “political fodder for then candidate Donald Trump’s anti-immigration agenda.”
Adachi added, “Despite the unfairly politicized atmosphere surrounding this case, jurors focused on the evidence, which was clear and convincing, and rendered a just verdict.”
A spokesperson for the district attorney’s office said the verdict was not the one prosecutors were seeking but at the end of the day, the jury ultimately makes the decision. Prosecutors also said the Steinle family was “incredible” and that their hearts went out to them.
While Zarate’s immigration status brought the case into the national spotlight, jurors did not hear evidence about that, and it was not a factor in the trial.
After 12 days of testimony, dozens of witnesses and two days of closing arguments, the jury had to decide whether Steinle’s death was the result of an act of murder or a tragic accident.
Reporters in the room said the jurors looked very somber as they entered. When the judge was handed the verdict, the courtroom was completely silent. During the reading of the not guilty verdict of involuntary manslaughter, the defense team nodded in approval but didn’t show any emotion. Zarate sat stoically in his seat.
Earlier in the day, the bailiff and court clerk were seen entering the jury room with a small yellow evidence bag before retreating with it a few minutes later.
A source inside the courtroom confirmed that the jury asked to see the gun used to shoot Steinle. Zarate and his defense team maintained the argument that the suspect found the stolen weapon on the pier that day and it “just fired.”
The gun belonged to a federal Bureau of Land Management ranger and was stolen from his parked car a week earlier.
The bullet ricocheted on the pier’s concrete walkway before it struck Steinle, killing her. Zarate has admitted to shooting Steinle, but says it was an accident.
However, the prosecution painted a very different picture, telling jurors that Zarate deliberately shot the gun towards Steinle while “playing his own secret version of Russian roulette.”
Following Steinle’s death, Congress took action to pass new legislation called Kate’s Law. The law — passed by the House of Representatives in June — increases the penalties for deported aliens who try to return to the United States and are caught.
Unbelievable.
An individual who has entered our Sovereign Nation illegally and murdered one of our citizens is found “innocent” in a city which ignores the laws of our land and harbors these fugitives, giving them the ability to prey upon American Citizens.
Have you noticed that the Liberal Main Stream Media always leave out the word “illegal” to describe these lawbreakers, here in our Sovereign Nation without our permission, whom these Democratic Mayors of “Sanctuary Cities” are so hell-bent on protecting?
These Democrats are also ignoring that while these “guests” (as Arizona’s Famous Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s successor has called them) are in our country illegally, they are committing other crimes as well…including MURDER.
On April 24, 2010, I wrote a Blog titled simply, “For Mr. Krentz”, detailing the murder of Arizona Rancher Robert Krentz by an illegal alien…
Police say Robert Krentz, whose family has been ranching in southern Arizona since 1907, was gunned down early Saturday morning, March 27th, 2010, by an illegal immigrant while out on his ATV tending to fences and water lines on the family’s 34,000-acre cattle ranch.
Reached by phone early Tuesday at his family’s ranch, Andy Krentz, Krentz’s oldest son, said his father was a churchgoing man who routinely went out of his way to help those in need.
“My father was a very good family man,” Krentz told FoxNews.com. “He supported his kids, supported his family. He went out of his way to help anybody we could without regarding to who they were. It didn’t matter who they were.”
Sue Krentz, Krentz’s wife, said she was “pretty overwhelmed” by her husband’s death, which coincided with her parents’ deteriorating health.
“This is icing on the cake,” Krentz said.
On May 14, 2014, on the occasion of then-President Barack Hussein Obama releasing 36,000 illegal aliens, who had committed additional crimes on our shores, back in to the populace, I posted the following information…
Per usillegalaliens.com,
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In Los Angeles, 95% of some 1,500 outstanding warrants for homicides are for illegal aliens. About 67% of the 17,000 outstanding fugitive felony warrants are for illegal aliens.
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There are currently over 400,000 unaccounted for illegal alien criminals with outstanding deportation orders. At least one-fourth of these are hard-core criminals.
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80,000 to 100,000 illegal aliens who have been convicted of serious crimes are walking the streets. Based on studies they will commit an average of 13 serious crimes per perpetrator.
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Illegal aliens are involved in criminal activities at a rate that is 2-5 times their representative proportion of the population.
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In 1980, our Federal and state facilities held fewer than 9,000 criminal aliens but at the end of 2003, approximately 267,000 illegal aliens were incarcerated in U.S. correctional facilities at a cost of about $6.8 billion per year.
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At least 4.5 million pounds of cocaine with a street value of at least $72 billion is smuggled across the southern border every year. ..
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56% of illegal aliens charged with a reentry offense had previously been convicted on at least 5 prior occasions.
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Illegal aliens charged with unlawful reentry had the most extensive criminal histories. 90% had been previously arrested. Of those with a prior arrest, 50% had been arrested for violent or drug-related felonies.
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Illegal aliens commit between 700,000 to 1,289,000 or more crimes per year.
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Illegal aliens commit at least 2,158 murders each year – a number that represents three times greater participation than their proportion of the population.
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Illegal alien sexual predators commit an estimated 130,909 sexual crimes each year.
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There may be as many as 240,000 illegal alien sex offenders circulating throughout America. Based on studies, they will commit an average of 8 sex crimes per perpetrator before being caught.
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Nearly 63% of illegal alien sex offenders had been deported on another offense prior to committing the sex crime.
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Only 2% of the illegal alien sex offenders in one study had no history of criminal behavior, beyond crossing the border illegally.
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In Operation Predator, ICE arrested and deported 6,085 illegal alien pedophiles. Some studies suggest each pedophile molests average of 148 children. If so, that could be as many as 900,580 victims.
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Nobody knows how big the Sex Slave problem is but it is enormous.
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The very brutal MS-13 gang has over 15,000 members and associates in at least 115 different cliques in 33 states.
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The overall financial impact of illegal alien crimes is estimated at between $14.4 and $81 billion or more per year. Factor in the crime as a result of the cocaine and other drugs being smuggled in and the number may reach $150 billion per year.
That was in 2014. Can you imagine how the numbers have grown exponentially?
And, the kicker is, the clownish excuses for city officials running these “Sanctuary Cities” are not only harboring fugitives, they are allowing them to vote!
Voting is an American Constitutional Right of self-determination.
Non-citizens have no such right.
I gave the following answer to a comment made by “Benito”, who submitted a rather lengthy comment to a blog I wrote about Illegal Immigration on May 19, 2010.
Benito, I approved your comment to ask you a few questions. First, you write very well. Next, a few questions. What part of the word “illegal” do you not understand? What makes the current influx of illegal immigrants exempt from the rules and regulations that every other generation of immigrants to this country had to abide by in order to become legal citizens of the greatest nation in the world? By being here illegally, you are not entitled to the same rights as natural-born or naturalized American citizens. You are no better than someone who breaks into someone’s home, does their dishes, cuts their yard, cleans their house, and then helps themselves to their food and drives their car without asking. This is in no way a human rights issue. Freedom is God-given. And with freedom comes responsibility. With citizenship comes responsibility, like paying taxes and making your own way. Illegal immigration reminds me of the amorous boyfriend who wants everything a young woman will give him, but will leave her at the first mention of marriage. I wish you no ill, amigo, but understand this: This is not a civil rights issue. Illegals do not have the same rights as American Citizens. With our rights, come the responsibilities of being an American citizen. The Mexican flag, by protocol, will always be flown in a subordinate position to the American Flag in this country. And, the American Dialect of the English language is the language spoken in this country.
Vaya con Dios.
Our Federal Taxes are being used to pay “Sanctuary Cities” to ignore our laws and house murderers, who, if our Immigration Laws were being properly enforced, would not be here killing innocent Americans. Compassion is one thing. Sanctuary Cities are an exercise in blatant, law-breaking stupidity.
All Government Grants to these cities, who are breaking the law, must be stopped now.
I understand that people want a better life for themselves and their children. We are all immigrants in this land, except for American Indians, and they got here by crossing the Bering Straight. But there is a huge difference between immigrating here legally and sneaking in illegally, between assimilating into an existing culture, and insisting on replacing a country’s existing culture with that of the country you left.
I’m all for assisting anyone in becoming a legal citizen of the United States, if that is their wish. But, it must be done the right way, and they must accept responsibility for their illegal entry, show a willingness to learn our language, and embrace our American way of life, including respecting the American Flag.
Criminals are criminals, whether they are here legally or illegally.
They deserve no sanctuary.
Neither Kate Steinle nor Mr. Krentz deserved to be murdered by barbarians who had already broken our laws once by trespassing into our Sovereign Nation.
OUR FOUNDERS ESTABLISHED AMERICA AS ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE.
NOT THE TOWER OF BABEL OR SOME THIRD WORLD LAWLESS HELLHOLE WHERE LAWLESSNESS RULES.
Build the wall, Secure our borders. Enforce the existing anti-illegal immigration laws.
Kate Steinle and the other American Citizens who have been killed by illegal immigrants deserve no less.
Until He Comes,
KJ