America's Border Wall – Part Three – Remembering Kate

It was one of those quintessential San Francisco days when the fog gently clings to the hills surrounding the causeways of the Golden Gate, slowly melting away by midday. Flocks of seagulls drifted atop the wind while the ocean danced uncontrollably beneath them. Rising in the background was the ever-present Isle of Alcatraz, a salient reminder of those forgotten days when Californians were safe from the runaway crime we face today. By afternoon brightly colored sailboats could be seen tacking in and out of undulating white-capped waves. As the sun set, the crowds began to break away from the Embarcadero, savoring the last moments of yet another perfect summer's day.

At dusk, a father and his daughter walked down Pier 14 to take in the sights and sounds of the Bay Bridge and to gaze at the reflections of towering buildings projected on the glassy waters along the promenade. But just before they reached the pier’s end, a shot rang out, hitting this beautiful young woman, piercing her aorta instead. And while her father caressed her head, she said, "Help me, Dad!" These were her last words; an hour later, she was dead. The sounds of sorrow filled the air, for this was a cross no father should ever bear. In that fatal moment, two lives would collide; and justice for Kate, as we soon learned, would be inexplicably denied.

On July 1, 2015, thirty-five-year-old Kate Steinle was shot and killed by an illegal immigrant, a seven-time felon, Jose Inez Garcia Zarate, who had been deported five times before this incident. Two months earlier, the San Francisco Sheriff released him despite an ICE detainer that would have kept Zarate in jail awaiting arraignment for immigration and drug charges. Zarate told authorities he chose to live in San Francisco because it was a Sanctuary City, and he knew he would be safe from deportation there. Sheriff Mirkarimi defended his actions to release Zarate from jail, stating he wanted to build trust with the undocumented community!

There are more than 30,000 Angel Moms whose loved ones have been killed by illegal aliens. Yet this maelstrom continues because of the Democrats' unwillingness to secure our southern border. If Sheriff Mirkarimi had honored and enforced the ICE detainer to hold Zarate, Kate Steinle would be alive today. By the way, Garcia Zarate was prosecuted by soft on crime George Gascon, the acting District Attorney for San Francisco at the time.

Recently Zarate was acquitted on both first-degree murder and manslaughter charges after serving five years for illegally carrying a firearm as a felon. Next month, Zarate will be discharged from prison, and then US Marshals will accompany him to Texas, where he will await his sixth deportation order and then be released into Mexico.

So, where's the justice for Kate and the 30,000 Angel Moms whose children were killed by illegal aliens? Do Sanctuary Cities serve the needs of law-abiding Americans, or do they encourage illicit behavior from undocumented aliens? Are we a country guided by laws, or are we doomed to be a failed state devoid of laws?

Will the priorities of the Democrat Party come first, or should the safety of Americans be first? Which shall it be, nonsense or commonsense? This November, we have a chance to restore law and order and end this recurring nightmare by electing American First Republicans and finishing "America's Border Wall" once and for all!

Dave Maynard