So many bits of good news for both small "d" democracy and also Democrats in the recent election! I want to highlight one that most of us in much of the country didn't know about.
Voters Ousted This Pennsylvania Sheriff After He Signed Up to Collaborate With ICE
A populous, swing Pennsylvania county replaced its GOP sheriff on Tuesday after months of controversy over his joining ICE’s 287(g) program. The Democratic winner promises he’ll end the contract.
... Since Donald Trump’s return to office, local and state agencies across the country have rushed in huge numbers to aid his deportation campaign by joining 287(g), which authorizes local law enforcement officers to act as federal immigration agents. The agreement in Bucks County granted [Sheriff Fred] Harran’s deputies the power to question the immigration status of people they encounter and to serve and execute arrest warrants on ICE’s behalf. ...
... [Harran's] Democratic challenger, Danny Ceisler, a 33-year-old attorney and Army veteran, spoke up against the ICE partnership, putting the issue at the center of his campaign.
Ceisler defeated Harran by 11 percentage points last week, a margin of roughly 25,000 votes. He confirmed to Bolts after his victory that he intends to terminate the 287(g) agreement once he enters office.
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County sheriffs are part of "law enforcement" but they usually not the cops on the streets. They mostly run the jails (an important job) and guard public buildings.
That's the case in my home county of San Francisco. I figured I should find out what our elected sheriff, Paul Miyamoto, is doing in ersponse to over-reaching federal immigration invaders. After all, San Francisco is a "sanctuary city" for migrants; we sure don't want our sheriff working with them.
On the one hand, in July, Miyamoto insisted
he will not act as an "arm of immigration enforcement," refusing to hand over inmate information.
We certainly hope that is the case.
But also, Miyamoto seems attracted to strange political buddies for a San Francisco sheriff. In July he endorsed a MAGA Trump supporter for governor.
His reasoning seems shallow.
“I support Sheriff Chad Bianco, alongside other sheriffs in California, as a peer leader in law enforcement and in the work we do to keep our communities safe,” Miyamoto wrote in a statement to Mission Local. “Law enforcement is not defined by political parties, but grounded in a commitment to public safety and the integrity of the profession.”
Maybe we ought to pay attention when Miyamoto comes up for re-election. This choice of friends seems madness.
San Francisco has had some quite benign sheriffs in my time here, especially the excellent Mike Hennessey. The job is not a stepping stone to anything so candidates are few.
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