THE LUNATIC FRINGE – AT 10:51 A.M. ET:  Whatever happened to San Francisco?  It used to be such a pleasant place, and a great Navy town.  Now it has become one of the centers of blind political correctness, flying the flag of gross irresponsibility whenever it can.  From Fox:

San Francisco, one of the first sanctuary cities in the nation, plans to end its cooperation with federal immigration officials and start releasing illegal immigrants arrested for minor offenses before they can be picked up for deportation.

We learned the hard way in New York that perpetrators of minor offenses eventually become murderers and rapists if the minor crimes are not prosecuted.  I guess the victims of those potential murders and rapes are of no consequence to the San Francisco philosophers.

The city's decision is the latest development in a tug of war between several communities and the federal government over its controversial national program that automatically checks the immigration status of arrestees.

Officials in jurisdictions including Providence, R.I., and Chicago have also challenged the program, which they say undermines trust that it has taken local law enforcement years to build in immigrant communities.

California and Illinois lawmakers are considering measures to let communities retreat from the so-called "Secure Communities" program, which links up the FBI's criminal database and the Department of Homeland Security's records so that every time someone is arrested their immigration status is automatically, electronically checked.

Washington state has deferred to local governments on whether they want to join program overseen by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

But their efforts could be thwarted as federal officials argue that states have no control over what information is shared among federal agencies.

COMMENT:  I'd love to see the reaction on the political left to what San Francisco is doing.  Remember how the left roared in opposition to Arizona's law to check the immigration status of those stopped by the police?  Why, that was a federal matter, the leftists said.  I'll bet these same people remain awfully silent over this latest San Francisco treat.

May 8, 2011