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Common Sense - City-State of Crack & Sanctimony |
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Written by Kevin Hanley
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Just about every Sunday morning, I have at least one “head-shaking moment.” The ritual begins when I’m comfortably ensconced in my favorite chair with a cup of freshly brewed coffee and the big Sunday edition of the newspaper strategically scattered around me. It usually takes less than seven minutes and thirty seconds for me to find a strange or outrageous article, read it, shake my head from side and side in puzzlement, and call out to the wife, “Hey, honey you won’t believe what I just read!”
Last Sunday, I had two “head-shaking moments.” The first one concerned a new law in the Netherlands that will ban the smoking of tobacco cigarettes in bars and restaurants but not marijuana cigarettes, which are technically illegal. Trying to figure out the logic of this new law will bring on a migraine faster than watching cage fighting.
Of course, reading the San Francisco Chronicle on a peaceful Sunday
morning practically guarantees more than one “head-shaking moment.” The
article “City’s Shield of Migrants Probed” (June 29, 2008), reports
that federal immigration officials are investigating San Francisco’s
juvenile probation officials who – citing the city’s 1989 immigrant
sanctuary ordinance – “are protecting Honduran youths caught dealing
crack cocaine from possible federal deportation and have given some
offenders a city-paid flight home with carte blanche to return.”
While
those arrested for drug dealing say that they are minors, police
suspect that most are adults living together in small apartments at the
behest of drug traffickers. According the article, the city’s policy
came to light when federal immigration officials detained a San
Francisco juvenile probation officer at the Houston airport, where he
was accompanying two Honduran juvenile drug offenders, as they were
about to take a flight to Tegucigalpa.
William Siffermann, chief
of San Francisco’s Juvenile Probation Department, doesn’t want the
immigrant drug dealers deported because “it would prevent them from
obtaining citizenship.” Yes, Mr. Siffermann actually said those words
out loud to the Chronicle reporter. Let’s not discriminate against
criminals becoming U.S. citizens!
U.S. Attorney Joseph Russoniello says that he was “flabbergasted that the taxpayers’ money was being spent for the purpose of ferrying detainees home.” “You have to have a perfect storm of dumb moves to have it happen,” said Russoniello. Even some on the city’s own police force raised questions about the consequences of the city’s illegal immigrant sanctuary law. Captain Tim Hettrich says that many of the immigrant drug dealers “pass themselves as juveniles” and are typically “arrested four or five times.” “They probably get the round trip and the next day, they will be right back here,” says Captain Hettrich.
Having one or more cities passing “sanctuary laws” and devoting taxpayer money to defy and obstruct federal officials from carrying out our laws against illegal immigration and drug dealing should not be tolerated. Such sanctimony ruins the lives of those hooked on crack cocaine. Any city that has passed a destructive “sanctuary law” should have all federal law enforcement grants immediately cut off until they repeal these ordinances. House Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid, who say they are for “immigration reform” and against “illegal drugs,” have a responsibility to act. Will they?
Kevin Hanley serves on the Auburn City Council and as Chief Consultant on health and insurance legislation with the California Legislature. Send your comments to Kevin at
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So inhaling second-hand marijuana smoke isn't harmful to the health of wait staff, while inhaling second-hand tobacco smoke is extremely harmful and has been responsible for the deaths of a large number of people already.