SAN FRANCISCO — U.S. immigration officials say they will deport a Mexican man acquitted of murder in the shooting of the woman on a San Francisco pier that touched off a fierce debate over immigration.
Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Thomas Homan said Thursday that immigration officials will take custody of Jose Ines Garcia Zarate once his case concludes.
A jury found Garcia Zarate not guilty in the 2015 death of Kate Steinle. Jurors did convict him of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Garcia Zarate had been deported five times and was wanted for a sixth deportation when the shooting happened. He said it was an accident.
Under a sanctuary city law, the San Francisco sheriff’s department had released Garcia Zarate from jail despite a federal immigration request to detain him for deportation
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