Kamala Harris Once Ran Jobs Program That Kept Criminal Illegal Migrants Out Of Prison

As the district attorney for San Francisco, Kamala Harris ran a city program that kept criminal illegal immigrants out of prison by training them for jobs they could not legally have.

Harris, who served as San Francisco district attorney from from 2004 to 2011, lead an initiative called “Back on Track” while serving as the city’s top prosecutor, according to a 2009 article from the LA Times. The program was intended to help felons get their convictions expunged, but Harris at the time said she didn’t know illegal immigrants were also being selected by her office.

Harris was made aware of the loophole only after an attack on a San Francisco woman by an illegal immigrant, according to the LA Times.

Amanda Kiefer was walking to dinner through San Francisco’s Pacific Heights neighborhood in July 2008 when an illegal migrant allegedly snatched her purse and ran off into an SUV, according to the LA Times. That man — later identified as Alexander Izaguirre — and the driver of the vehicle attempted to run her down, and after she jumped on the vehicle to avoid being run over, the driver slammed on the breaks, launching her onto the pavement, resulting in a fractured skull and blood oozing from her ear

Izaguirre had pleaded guilty to a drug felony months earlier for selling cocaine, but he had avoided prison when he was selected to participate in the Back on Track program, an initiative created by Harris when she was the city’s top prosecutor, according to the LA Times. However, Izaguirre was also discovered to be living in the country illegally — drawing into question as to why he would’ve been selected for the program when he wasn’t allowed to work in the U.S. anyways.

Harris told the LA Times allowing illegal immigrants into the program was a “flaw in the design.”

“I believe we fixed it,” she said at the time. “So moving forward, it is about making sure that no one enters Back on Track if they cannot hold legal employment.”