A San Francisco deputy police chief told attendees at a town hall in the Castro Thursday that, as protests over federal immigration crackdowns grow, the police department may need to step in to protect federal immigration agents and protesters alike.
“Our role is to be a peacekeeper,” Deputy Chief Derrick Lew said when District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman asked for clarification on how San Francisco’s sanctuary city ordinance affects how police can and cannot interact with ICE. “It doesn’t matter what our politics are, but we kind of have to draw the line so that people don’t get hurt.”
Lew added that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is responsible for the safety of its own agents and those they arrest. But, police officers may need to protect ICE agents against protesters — or vice versa…