SF Officers Have No Duty to Police Immigration

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - San Francisco police are not required to report drug suspects who may not be U.S. citizens to federal immigration officials, a California appeals court ruled.

Charles Fonseca sued the police department to enforce the city's Health and Safety Code, which does require officers to report drug offenders who may be non-citizens.

Justice Kline agreed with the trial court that the health code is pre-empted by federal immigration laws.

"A state statute impermissibly invades the exclusive power of the federal government to regulate immigration," Kline wrote, "if it essentially requires state or local officials to make a determination of who should or should not be admitted to the country."

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