‘Basically what’s happening here is the creation of a deportation pipeline’: DA, critics say Tenderloin initiative is being used to dodge sanctuary laws
Dozens of Honduran nationals have been deported for minor drug violations
By Nate Gartrell
PUBLISHED: December 24, 2020 at 5:49 a.m. | UPDATED: December 27, 2020 at 3:44 p.m.
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal operation aimed at curbing drug sales in the Tenderloin has led to the deportation of dozens of people, mostly Honduran nationals, despite city and state sanctuary laws intended to prevent such immigration crackdowns, a review of hundreds of court records by the Bay Area News Group has found.
Known as the Federal Initiative for the Tenderloin, or FIT, the U.S. Attorney-led operation has led to 230 federal prosecutions to date, but also growing criticism that it is being used as a proxy for city police to engage in banned activities with immigration enforcement.
The court records show dozens of FIT cases followed the same pattern: an undocumented person is arrested for selling a small amount of drugs — perhaps $20 worth — to an undercover San Francisco police officer and ends up in federal custody, facing charges normally reserved for those who sell drugs by the ounce or the kilogram. At the case’s end, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE, places a hold on the defendant and commences deportation proceedings.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/12/24/da-critics-say-anti-drug-tenderloin-initiative-is-being-used-to-dodge-sanctuary-city-laws-deport-undocumented-immigrants/
