Secret Service agents had already vetted the home of a San Francisco attorney who was set to host a fundraiser attended by Bill Clinton on Monday. But according to the San Francisco Chronicle, the Hillary Clinton campaign intervened at the last minute to order a change of venue after it was discovered that the homeowner, Frank Pitre, is suing the city of San Francisco on behalf of the family of Kate Steinle, the 32-year-old woman who was murdered by an illegal immigrant in July.
The former president was set to host a $1,000-a-head fundraiser at Pitre’s home, The Chronicle reported. One of Pitre’s law firm partners is Joe Cotchett, a big-time Democratic fundraiser. But after a call from the Hillary Clinton campaign, the event was moved to the home of California U.S. Rep. [crscore]Jackie Speier[/crscore].
The paper suggests that the event was changed because of Pitre’s work for Kate Steinle’s family, who is suing San Francisco over its “sanctuary” policies.
The family says that Steinle’s killer, Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, should have been deported back to Mexico when he was released from federal prison in April. But the city refused a request from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement because of its policies against working with federal immigration agencies.
Lopez-Sanchez, who has been deported from the U.S. five times and had numerous felonies on his record, is accused of shooting Steinle in the back while she was walking with her dad and a friend.
The case caused a nationwide uproar over illegal immigration and of “sanctuary” policies, which are on the books in hundreds of cities and counties in the U.S. The case was also routinely cited on the campaign trail by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Pitre did not respond to an email request for comment about The Chronicle’s report.
But the Clinton campaign has been careful to not be seen as being anti-immigrant. While the former first lady supported more restrictive immigration policies during her 2008 presidential run, she has moved far to the left on the issue during her current White House bid. She has said that she will go even beyond President Obama’s executive actions granting amnesty to millions of illegal aliens. She has also backed off of her past support for building a stronger border wall as part of comprehensive immigration reform.
Clinton has also avoided using rhetoric which could be seen as critical of illegal aliens. At a campaign event in New Hampshire in November she used the term “illegal immigrant” and was heavily criticized for it. She later vowed to not use the word “illegal” again.