San Francisco is now providing free, taxpayer-funded plane tickets home for illegal aliens – with an open invitation to visit again.
City juvenile probation officers are shielding Honduran crack cocaine dealers from federal deportation and citing San Francisco's sanctuary status as justification for its policy, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
William Siffermann, chief of San Francisco's Juvenile Probation Department, claims federal authorities have never ordered him to stop flying illegal aliens back to their home countries. He cited city policy against turning young illegal alien offenders over to the federal government.
"We are not obligated to," he said. "We are abiding by the sanctuary city ordinance. I don't believe we've done anything wrong."
A federal investigation is attempting to determine whether the City by the Bay has methodically bypassed U.S. immigration laws, but officials claim young illegal aliens are often victims of exploitation and must be protected. San Francisco authorities have asked juvenile court judges and commissioners to authorize city-funded plane trips to reunite the Honduran drug traffickers with their families back home. Siffermann said federal immigration officials have warned his office about the practice.
"They did a little friendly stop-by," he said. "They said, 'This is something we would like you to cooperate on.' ... They said, 'Hey, look, this could be contrary to federal law, you might be in violation.' "
In the meantime, San Francisco officials continued to fly illegal alien crack dealers home.
While a recent influx of illegals from Honduras has been plaguing city streets with crack dealers, federal officials criticize the city's position because they say it lets lawbreakers "game the system" and does not prevent them from returning to the United States.
However. Siffermann told the Chronicle the city does not send illegal aliens back home until it has exhausted all efforts to rehabilitate them with probation, foster care and detention. He said deporting young crack dealers would keep them from becoming law-abiding U.S. residents.
"It might prevent them from obtaining citizenship," he said, preventing them from having an opportunity to "take a different course."
U.S. Attorney Joseph Russoniello said 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."
According to the report, federal authorities apprehended a San Francisco probation officer in Houston as he was allowing two Honduran drug dealers to board a plane to Tegucigalpa. Immigration officials held the officer, questioning him before setting him free, and deported the young dealers.
"Our job is to uphold the nation's immigration laws," said Greg Palmore, spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "Although San Francisco is a sanctuary city, it's a problem whenever someone attempts to evade the law. ... Our law does not allow us to turn a blind eye to any individual who has come into this country illegally."
San Francisco police say they doubt many of the men they arrest are minors because they often lie about their ages to gain special city protection from deportation.
San Francisco police Capt. Tim Hettrich told the newspaper drug dealers "pass themselves off as juveniles, with a three-day growth of beard and everything else. It's frustrating."
He said many of the offenders have been arrested four or five times.
"That is one of the big problems with being a city of sanctuary," Hettrich said. "They probably get the round trip and the next day, they will be right back here."
Â
Related special offers:
Get "The Late Great USA" and find out how America is giving away its sovereignty
Autographed! – Pat Buchanan unleashed on border crisis
Get Minutemen founder's new book
"Conquest of Aztlan: Will Mexicans retake American Southwest?"
SECRETS OF THE INVASION: Why America's government invites rampant illegal immigration
'Invasion'? Michelle Malkin reveals feds still welcoming terrorists, criminals to America
Â
Obama calls Hazleton ruling 'a victory for all Americans'
Mayor wins both GOP, Democrat primaries
Now Arizona law chases illegals out
Mandatory deportation has illegals on the run
Another city joins immigration fight
City battles ACLU, feds in fight against illegals
Another town gets tough on illegals
Cities across nation crack down in illegals
Employers shun service to weed out illegal hires