EBLRLA Urges SF Mayor Gavin Newsom to Change SF Juvenile Probation Policies
In solidarity with the San Francisco Immigrant Rights Defense Committee (“SFIRDC”) and in furtherance of constitutional equal protection and due process rights for all persons, the East Bay La Raza Lawyers Association mailed SF Mayor Gavin Newsom a letter urging him to change the SF Juvenile Probation Department’s policies to accord with the SFIRDC’s proposal.
In 2008, Mayor Newsom changed the SFJPD’s policy from one that respected the constitutional rights of all persons to one that referred youths arrested for a felony and suspected of being out of immigration status to the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration & Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) before the SF District Attorney decides to press charges and before that youth has a chance to appear before a judge.
In contrast, the SFIRDC’s proposed policy would authorize the SFJPD to refer a youth to ICE only after that youth had received a settled statement (analogous to a felony conviction in adult criminal court) and had the chance to be screened for possible adjustment of immigration status.
Copies of the letter are being sent to allied organizations and individuals interested in the due process and equal protection rights of all persons, especially our immigrant youths.