When Anthony, Matthew and Michael Bologna were gunned down last week in San Francisco by Edwin Ramos, a 21-year-old illegal immigrant from El Salvador, the Bologna family took little comfort in knowing that this tragedy could have been avoided had Ramos been deported the last time he committed a crime.  Ramos was convicted twice on felony charges as a juvenile, but never faced deportation.  Danielle Bologna, whose husband and children were murdered, and her brother Frank Kennedy have blamed the city of San Francisco’s sanctuary policy toward illegal immigrants for the loss of their family members.  Sanctuary cities fail to comply with federal law and ignore constitutional principles to shield criminals from justice.  Unfortunately cities across the United States have adopted such measures, and it is doubtful that the next president will do anything to stop these unconstitutional policies.

Sanctuary cities act on a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy which keeps local law enforcement from asking about the legal status of criminals they apprehend.  Sanctuary policies also prohibit local law enforcement from notifying federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) about illegals in their custody.

"Any mayor, any board of supervisors that passes these laws should be prosecuted to the fullest," Kennedy said in an interview about the death of his nephews and brother-in-law.  "This is not the United States of San Francisco . . . My family was the sacrificial lamb in this."

Not only do sanctuary cities refuse to comply with long standing federal law, the 9/11 Commission Report also called on local law enforcement to work more closely with federal agencies to enforce immigration law.  The report states, “There is a growing role for state and local law enforcement agencies [for the enforcement of immigration law]. They need more training and work with federal agencies so that they can cooperate more effectively with those federal authorities in identifying terrorist suspects.”

Last year after a series of raids by federal authorities in California to arrest foreign nationals, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom remarked, “I will not allow any of my department heads or anyone associated with this city to cooperate in any way shape or form with these raids,” adding, “We are a sanctuary city, make no mistake about it.”

The MO for San Francisco officials has been to escort juvenile illegals back to their home countries or place them in unsecured halfway houses instead of allowing federal authorities to deport them.  This summer, several criminal illegals escaped from Newsom’s sanctuary houses in San Bernardino County and other regions.

Last August the nation saw how dangerous these sanctuary policies are when three college students were killed by illegal aliens with criminal records in Newark, NJ.  Newark, another sanctuary city, failed to deport the ringleader of the killings who had been indicted twice for felonies in 2007, including the rape of a kindergarten-aged girl.

This month in Virginia, officials in Prince William County have decided to take the proper actions to make sure criminal illegal aliens are identified.  A new policy requires the police to check the immigration status of every single person they arrest by running their information through a national database to check their citizenship status.  Prince William County's Board of County Supervisors unanimously passed the immigration crackdown last fall.  County officials began getting tough on immigration last year by allowing police officers to ask suspects about their immigration status before arrests were made. 

WorldNetDaily reports that crime in Prince William County is down 19.3 percent in the first quarter of 2008, while crime has risen 22 percent in next door Fairfax County.

An editorial in the Washington Post last week said that Prince William County’s immigration policy had intentions to “hound, harass and humiliate illegal immigrants.”  The editorial also commented that, “Across the nation, Prince William (County) has become synonymous with an ugly strain of nativist intolerance that has deep roots in American history but which is a slander on the county's generally well-educated and diverse population.”

As I have pointed out before (Assimilate Or Evacuate, “The Race” And The Candidates) the United States has never had open immigration, and for good reason.  The Framers wanted a unified American citizenry, with similar American customs, who understood the purpose and operation of American government.  Our Founding Fathers made clear that the laws of America, and the rights afforded to its citizens, were meant only to govern legal American citizens:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence [sic], promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. [Emphasis added]

People who come to the United States illegally do not respect our laws, and are criminals who have declared war on our way of life.  Every law enforcement division in the nation should follow the lead of Prince William County, Virginia in protecting the American people from blatant criminals.  The “don’t ask, don’t tell” practices of sanctuary cities must come to an end to protect American lives and ensure the rule of law.

Cities and counties with sanctuary policies:

Anchorage, Alaska

Fairbanks, Alaska

Chandler, Ariz.

Fresno, Calif.

Los Angeles

San Diego

San Francisco

Sonoma County, Calif.

Cicero, Ill.

Evanston, Ill.

Portland, Maine

Baltimore

Takoma Park, Md.

Cambridge, Mass.

Orleans, Mass.

Ann Arbor, Mich.

Detroit

Minneapolis

Albuquerque, N.M.

Aztec, N.M.

Rio Arriba County, N.M.

Sante Fe, N.M.

New York

Durham, N.C.

Ashland, Ore.

Gaston, Ore.

Marion County, Ore.

Austin, Texas

Houston

Katy, Texas

Seattle

Madison, Wis.

Source: 'Enforcing Immigration Law: The Role of State and Local Law Enforcement,' Congressional Research Service, last updated Aug. 14, 2006