Right-wing lawsuit against the Sheriff is dismissed
SAN FRANCISCO (April 15, 2021) — City Attorney Dennis Herrera released the following statement today after a San Francisco Superior Court judge on April 14, 2021 dismissed a lawsuit brought against San Francisco’s Sheriff over a jail policy regarding immigrants. The lawsuit wrongly claimed that that Sheriff’s Department policy violated federal law. Federal courts have already found that San Francisco’s sanctuary policies fully comply with federal law.
“This is yet another vindication for San Francisco’s sanctuary laws. We are trying to protect the health and safety of our communities. Communities are safer when families don’t fear taking their child to the doctor, calling the fire department in an emergency, or going to the police if they’ve been the victim of a crime. Breaking up hardworking families doesn’t make anyone safer.”
“Every court that has looked at this issue has found that San Francisco’s sanctuary laws and policies comply with federal law. Immigration enforcement is the federal government’s job. There is no obligation under federal law for us to assist in enforcing immigration law. Federal officials can do their job in San Francisco, just like anywhere else in the country. San Francisco is not stopping them. But we are not about to let our deputies, our police, or any other City employee be commandeered into a federal deportation force.”
Case Background
This lawsuit was brought by Cynthia Cerletti, who was represented by the right-wing group Judicial Watch, which files baseless lawsuits and according to news reports has described climate science as “fraud science.”
You can read the court’s order here.
The case is: Cynthia Cerletti v. Vicki Hennessy, San Francisco Superior Court Case No. CGC-16-556164, filed Dec. 12, 2016.
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