In San Francisco

KathrynSteinle The latest outrage in our continuing saga of illegal immigration comes via San Francisco, where a five-time Mexican deportee killed a beautiful young lady (photo at left) who was out for a walk with her father. FOX News reports:

The man arrested in connection with the seemingly random killing of a woman who was out for a stroll with her father along the San Francisco waterfront is an illegal immigrant who previously had been deported five times, federal immigration officials say.

Further, Immigration and Customs Enforcement says San Francisco had him in their custody earlier this year but failed to notify ICE when he was released.

“DHS records indicate ICE lodged an immigration detainer on the subject at that time, requesting notification prior to his release so ICE officers could make arrangements to take custody. The detainer was not honored,” ICE said in a statement Friday afternoon.

Kathryn Steinle was killed Wednesday evening at Pier 14 — one of the busiest tourist destinations in the city.

Police said Thursday they arrested Francisco Sanchez in the shooting an hour after it occurred.

On Friday, ICE revealed their records indicate the individual has been previously deported five times, most recently in 2009, and is from Mexico.

“His criminal history includes seven prior felony convictions, four involving narcotics charges,” ICE said in a statement.

ICE briefly had him in their custody in March after he had served his latest sentence for “felony re-entry,” but turned him over to San Francisco Sheriff’s Department on an outstanding drug warrant. At this time, ICE issued the detainer — effectively asking that he be turned back over to ICE when San Francisco was finished with him.

But ICE was not notified. The incident is sure to renew criticism of San Francisco’s sanctuary city policies.

“Here’s a jurisdiction that’s not even honoring our detainer for someone who clearly is an egregious offender,” an ICE official told FoxNews.com.

ICE has since lodged another immigration detainer against the individual, though it’s unclear whether San Francisco will cooperate.

An attorney for the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department told the Associated Press it had no authority to honor the prior immigration hold when it released the suspect.

Freya Horne said Friday that federal detention orders are not a “legal basis” to hold someone, so Francisco Sanchez was released April 15.

The San Francisco Chronicle carries a brief account of the murder here. The account of the murder is brief but heart-rending:

Kathryn Steinle had just sent her mother a quintessential San Francisco picture — a photo of her, her father and a family friend on the scenic waterfront of the Embarcadero.

But five minutes later, with her father’s arm around her shoulder, the 32-year-old Pleasanton native suddenly collapsed on Pier 14 just south of the Ferry Building. It was 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, and she had been struck in the chest by a bullet.

“There was a pop, and Kate went down,” 68-year-old Jim Steinle recalled Thursday.

He immediately began CPR before paramedics arrived and rushed his daughter into an ambulance. Two hours later, she died at San Francisco General Hospital, said her mother, 69-year-old Liz Sullivan.

“She just kept saying, ‘Dad, help me, help me,’” Sullivan said. “It’s just unbelievable. It’s surreal. I don’t think I’ve totally grasped it.”

The events here appear to follow from our porous border and from San Francisco’s status as a so-called sanctuary city, although this last point is not entirely clear from the newspaper accounts. It is a shame that Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi were unavailable for comment.

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