By Kamala Kelkar
April 3, 2008
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, police Chief Heather Fong and other city officials have launched an $83,000 campaign to help immigrants feel safe and encourage them to use city facilities.
The campaign is meant to take a 1989 City of Refuge ordinance to the next level by advertising through bus stops, radio and billboards in different languages that immigrants should feel comfortable doing things like enrolling their children in school or filing a police report.
Fong said that although some immigrants might be scared to report crimes, police do not report illegal immigrants to the federal government unless necessary and police are required to find translators for those who speak other languages.
“All of us know people who are in our community who don’t speak English,” she said. “We need to be there to support them.”
Opponents of the campaign say it attracts illegal immigrants to the city, which encourages breaking the law.
Newsom said San Francisco is only one of a number of major cities in the U.S. considered a Sanctuary City and he has no problem being open about comforting immigrants.
“We’re just a little different,” said Newsom. “We’re just a little more honest.”
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman said these situations come up frequently.
“We all embrace our heritage as a nation of immigrants, but we’re also a nation of laws,” said ICE spokeswoman Lori Hayley. “We understand local law enforcement has a different mandate than we do.”
Campaign brochures and other advertisements will be available in languages such as Cantonese and Russian through August for an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 undocumented residents of San Francisco.
The Hunger Site
April 4, 2008 at 6:56 pm
If the mayor wants to comfort immigrants, maybe he ca find room in his grand digs for a few.
April 4, 2008 at 3:36 pm
I’m afraid I’ll have to agree with Howard Epstein on this one. Even if you buy this skewed, “sanctuary city†philosophy, why not have sympathetic private groups or churches pay for this getting-out-the-word campaign?
If you take the Mayor and add eleven Supervisors, that’s 12 people. Divide $83,000 by 12 and it comes to $6,916.67 a person. Why didn’t they pay for this noble cause themselves?
It reminds me of what Ronald Reagan once said, “The best minds are not in government. If any were, business would hire them away.â€
April 4, 2008 at 7:56 am
Howard,
Don’t be such a little bitch.
April 3, 2008 at 6:48 pm
While the City is facing a $330 million budget deficit, the Mayor is again showing total disrespect of the citizens by spending $83,000 of taxpayers’ money to advertise that laws he doesn’t like do not apply to San Francisco. Newsom’s arrogance will surely more attract illegals leading to more spending on services for people who have no right to taxpayer-funded assistance.
Those of us who pay San Francisco’s bills receive nothing but contempt from City Hall. We are subject to ever-rising city taxes and fees, like the proposed increase in parking tickets or increased entrance fees to city attractions, etc. Our streets are an obstacle course of potholes leading to increased auto maintenance costs. The buses don’t run on time and we are short hundreds of police officers.
Its time that our elected leaders to show some respect for those who pay the bills by not increasing the number of people using expense city services.
Howard Epstein
Chairman
San Francisco Republican Party