Jul 13, 2008 11:01 pm US/Pacific
SF Now Cooperating With Feds On Immigration
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ―
Federal officials said San Francisco authorities have started turning over the names of juvenile offenders who may be in the U.S. illegally.
Officials indicated that the city has given the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency the names of 10 immigrant offenders in juvenile custody, most of them being held for drug-related offenses.
ICE officials said they are investigating whether the youths should be deported.
The move comes after Mayor Gavin Newsom reversed the city's 20-year-old policy of shielding young immigrant offenders from federal deportation under San Francisco's sanctuary city policy.
His administration came under intense criticism after three teenage boys escaped from a San Bernardino County group home where they were placed by the city.
The city also had been paying for free trips home for youth offenders rather than report them to federal officials.
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