The undersigned organizations demand that you end your office’s collusion with federal prosecutors and other federal agencies to prevent state court juries from hearing stories of immigrant community members. This practice by your office sets up a two-tiered system of justice that discriminates against and deprives immigrants of due process, fast-tracks people into deportation, and subjects victims of labor trafficking to life-threatening conditions. In the last year, more than 100 people have been subjected to the District Attorney’s collusion with federal prosecutors.
In August 2024, the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office announced an unprecedented trial victory—a complete acquittal —for a young man who was labor trafficked and coerced to sell drugs in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood. This is the first time in the Bay Area and possibly the state where a jury has fully acquitted someone of drug-related charges because the person was labor trafficked and their life and loved ones were threatened with harm. This story is not unique. Juries in four other cases in San Francisco where evidence of human trafficking was presented declined to convict the individuals and instead hung.
Further, the DA’s office practice of colluding with federal prosecutors makes it harder for people to show up to their local hearings for fear of immigration enforcement. This cruel practice has led to traumatic arrests, including that of several young mothers, at the San Francisco courthouse. It singles out and scapegoats the immigrant community for the tragic fentanyl overdose crisis, and evades our historic Sanctuary law, which is crucial to building strong, safe communities. Today, when hateful, anti-immigrant rhetoric is on the rise across the country, we staunchly oppose any efforts to scapegoat our friends, family, and neighbors who are immigrants.
As an elected official, you must follow your oath to protect all victims of crime and stop offering coercive plea deals that put people at risk of ICE detention and deportation. We believe that the DA’s office should treat labor trafficking survivors the same way it treats sex trafficking survivors. We would also like to remind you that your office has an obligation under state law to sign U- and T-visa certifications to support immigrant survivors. See SB 674; CA Penal Code Section 679.10 and AB 1261; CA Penal Code 679.11.
We demand an end to your office’s unjust practice of colluding with federal prosecutors, that punishes and traumatizes our immigrant communities and their loved ones. The overdose crisis is a public health crisis, and we urgently need evidence-based solutions. We don’t need false solutions that will harm people who are victims of trafficking and create more fear in our communities. We ask for a meeting with you to discuss how you’ll be responding to these requests to stop colluding with federal agencies to target and funnel community members into deportation.
Signed,
FREE SF coalition ABD/Skywatchers
Arab Resource and Organizing Center Asian Law Caucus
Asian Women’s Shelter CARECEN SF
California Coalition for Women Prisoners California Immigrant Policy Center Causa Justa :: Just Cause
Chinese for Affirmative Action
Coalition on Homelessness, San Francisco Community United Against Violence Drug Policy Alliance
Filipino Community Center GLIDE
Immigrant Legal Resource Center Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity La Raza Centro Legal
La Raza Community Resource Center Legal Services for Children
Mission Action
National Harm Reduction Coalition One Voice Recovery, Inc.
Pine United Methodist Church
People Organizing to Demand Environmental & Economic Rights (PODER) San Francisco Immigrant Legal and Education Network
San Francisco Public Defender’s Office San Francisco Rising
Senior and Disability Action The Sidewalk Project
Trabajadores Unidos Workers United
University of San Francisco, Immigration & Deportation Defense Clinic Young Women Freedom Center
