Freya Horne, legal counsel for the San Francisco County Sheriff's Office, explained that the city and county are sanctuaries for immigrants, and they do not turn over undocumented people — if they don't have active warrants out for them — simply because immigration officials want them to. She told the Contra Costa Times that sheriff's officials had "no legal basis" for holding Sanchez after his case was dismissed. San Francisco is a "sanctuary city, so we do not hand over people to ICE," added Grace Gatpandan, public information officer for the city police.