The United States plans to deport the Mexican man who was acquitted of killing Kathryn Steinle, a girl whose 2015 dying whereas strolling alongside a San Francisco pier fueled a fierce nationwide debate over immigration, officers mentioned Thursday. Donald J. Trump, then a presidential candidate, highlighted the case in his assaults on migration and sanctuary cities.
Jose Inez Garcia Zarate was acquitted by a jury in November 2017 on homicide and manslaughter fees however was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He mentioned he had fired the gun by chance, and proof offered on the trial indicated that the bullet had ricocheted.
He was sentenced to time served in 2022, however he has remained in jail for federal probation violations since then. He was transferred to the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Feb. 16, officers on the company mentioned.
ICE plans to deport Mr. Garcia Zarate to central or southern Mexico inside days or per week, in line with an official with the Department of Homeland Security. The particular person, who was not licensed to debate the case publicly, spoke on situation of anonymity.
Ms. Steinle’s dying turned a touchstone in a fierce debate over how legislation enforcement ought to method immigrants with out authorized standing. Mr. Garcia Zarate, who’s in his late 40s or early 50s, had been convicted of a number of offenses and deported to Mexico a minimum of 5 instances from 1993 to 2011, in line with courtroom paperwork.
The nationwide debate continues to today, as Mr. Trump, once more operating for president, tries to impress assist for his hard-line immigration agenda. President Biden, who got here into workplace promising a extra humane immigration system after the Trump years, has taken an more and more forceful line on immigration as nicely.
At the time of Ms. Steinle’s killing, ICE officers mentioned the San Francisco County Sheriff’s Department had didn’t honor their request to carry Mr. Garcia Zarate. Instead, the sheriff’s division launched him from custody.
Ms. Steinle’s household tried and didn’t sue the town of San Francisco for releasing Mr. Garcia Zarate with out telling federal immigration authorities simply months earlier than the taking pictures.
“This is an absolutely disgraceful situation and I am the only one that can fix it. Nobody else has the guts to even talk about it. That won’t happen if I become president,” Mr. Trump mentioned on the time. Hillary Rodham Clinton, one other presidential candidate, additionally mentioned that San Francisco had made a mistake in releasing Mr. Garcia Zarate.
The San Francisco public defender’s workplace, which represented Mr. Garcia Zarate in his trial, mentioned the case had been miscast within the public.
“From Day 1, this case was used as a means to foment hate, to foment division, to foment a program of mass deportation … and I believe today is a vindication for the rights of immigrants,” a public defender instructed The San Francisco Chronicle in 2017.
The taking pictures introduced a renewed give attention to the difficulty of sanctuary cities like San Francisco, which restrict cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
The Trump administration tried to crack down on sanctuary cities, together with by making an attempt to withhold federal funding from them. Many cities anxious about cooperating with ICE amid fears that officers would indiscriminately arrest migrants all through the nation.
ICE typically depends on native jails to cooperate with them, to ensure that deportation officers to choose up migrants they need to detain and deport.
