 Yes he’s guilty of possession of a firearm. No he’s not guilty of killing Kate Steinle.  Hard to believe. That’s the verdict. The jury weighed all the evidence.
The bottom line: In San Francisco, an undocumented immigrant with Garcia Zarate’s exact criminal history can still be released from jail to the streets without a call to alert Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.)
San Francisco (CNN)[Breaking news update, posted at 7:43 p.m. ET]
 The jury has reached a verdict in the trial of Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, a Mexican citizen and undocumented immigrant charged in the 2015 killing of Kate Steinle in San Francisco. The case became a political lightning rod in the debate over immigration policy.
Zarate, of Mexico, had been deported several times and has previous convictions for re-entry after deportation. Before the killing, he had been released from a San Francisco jail after a minor drug charge was dismissed. While U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had issued a detainer for Zarate, he was released under the city’s sanctuary laws.
Zarate had claimed he found the gun used in the shooting wrapped in a T-shirt under a bench and that it went off accidentally, The Associated Press reported.
“We’re just shocked — saddened and shocked … that’s about it,†Jim said “There’s no other way you can coin it. Justice was rendered, but it was not served.â€
Brad said he was “not surprised,†considering the “epic failure†that led Garcia Zarate to be released on the streets, and end up with a loaded handgun on the pier that day.
“I’m stunned that they couldn’t even get him on using the weapon,†Brad said.
“The Steinles have a decidedly nuanced view on sanctuary cities. They support the concept as a way to encourage immigrants, regardless of legal status, to come forward as victims or witnesses to crimes without fear of deportation. Yet they believe San Francisco went too far when then-Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi effectively ordered his department to cut off communication with federal immigration authorities.
They also expressed frustration at the sanctimony and stubbornness of San Francisco politicians. In response to the outrage over Kate’s killing, the city modified its sanctuary policy only slightly, allowing notification of federal immigration authorities only when a person convicted of certain violent crimes is about to be released.
The bottom line: An undocumented immigrant with Garcia Zarate’s exact criminal history still could be released from jail to the streets without a call to alert Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
