US plans to deport Mexican man cleared in Kathryn Steinle case
The United States plans to deport the Mexican man acquitted of killing Kathryn Steinle, a woman whose 2015 death while walking along a San Francisco pier sparked a fierce national debate over immigration, officials said Thursday. Donald J. Trump, then a presidential candidate, emphasized the issue in his attacks on migration and sanctuary cities.
Jose Inez Garcia Zarate was acquitted by a jury in November 2017 on charges of murder and manslaughter, but was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He said he fired the gun accidentally, and evidence presented at trial showed the bullet had ricocheted.
He was sentenced to prison in 2022, but has since been in prison for violating federal probation. He was transferred to the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Feb. 16, agency officials said.
ICE plans to deport Mr. Garcia Zarate to central or southern Mexico within days or a week, a Department of Homeland Security official said. The person, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, spoke on condition of anonymity.
Ms. Steinle’s death became a touchstone in a fierce debate over how law enforcement should approach immigrants without legal status. Mr. Garcia Zarate, in his late 40s or early 50s, had been convicted of multiple offenses and deported to Mexico at least five times between 1993 and 2011, according to court documents.
The national debate continues to this day as Mr. Trump, who is running for president again, tries to build support for his hard-line immigration agenda. President Biden, who came to power promising a more humane immigration system after the Trump years, has also taken an increasingly strong position on immigration.
At the time of Ms. Steinle’s killing, ICE officials said the San Francisco County Sheriff’s Department had not honored their request to detain Mr. Garcia Zarate. Instead, the sheriff’s department released him.
Ms. Steinle’s family tried but failed to sue the city of San Francisco for the release of Mr. Garcia Zarate, without notifying federal immigration authorities several months before the shooting.
“This is an absolutely shameful situation and I am the only one who can solve it. No one else has the guts to even talk about it. That won’t happen if I become president.” Mr. Trump said at the time. Hillary Rodham Clinton, another presidential candidate, also said San Francisco had made a mistake in releasing Mr. Garcia Zarate.
The San Francisco public defender’s office, which represented Mr. Garcia Zarate in his trial, said the case was a misconception among the public.
“From Day 1, this case was used as a tool to incite hatred, to incite division, to incite a program of mass deportation… and I believe it is a vindication today for the rights of immigrants, ” a public defender told The San Francisco Chronicle in 2017.
The shooting brought renewed attention to the issue of sanctuary cities like San Francisco, which limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
The Trump administration tried to crack down on sanctuary cities, including trying to withhold federal funding from them. Many cities raised concerns about cooperating with ICE, fearing agents across the country would indiscriminately arrest migrants.
ICE often relies on local jails to work with them so that deportation officers can pick up migrants they want to detain and deport.