Attorney General Jeff Sessions says the elected officials in sanctuary cities that harbor criminal illegal aliens should “reflect” on the not guilty verdict of the Kate Steinle murder trial and “consider carefully the harm they are doing” to Americans.

Following the not guilty verdict of seven-time felon and five-times deported illegal alien Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, also known as Jose Ines Garcia Zarate — who previously admitted to shooting and killing 32-year-old Kate Steinle while she was walking on a pier with her father — Sessions said the woman’s death was “preventable” if not for San Francisco’s sanctuary city policy that allows criminal illegal aliens to take refuge in the region.

“When jurisdictions choose to return criminal aliens to the streets rather than turning them over to federal immigration authorities, they put the public’s safety at risk,” Sessions said in a statement. “San Francisco’s decision to protect criminal aliens led to the preventable and heartbreaking death of Kate Steinle.”

Sessions said Steinle’s murder and the not guilty verdict for the illegal alien who shot her should be an example of the danger sanctuary cities put Americans’ lives in when they refuse to cooperate with federal immigration officials in deporting illegal aliens.

“While the State of California sought a murder charge for the man who caused Ms. Steinle’s death—a man who would not have been on the streets of San Francisco if the city simply honored an ICE detainer—the people ultimately convicted him of felon in possession of a firearm,” Sessions continued.

“The Department of Justice will continue to ensure that all jurisdictions place the safety and security of their communities above the convenience of criminal aliens,” Sessions said. “I urge the leaders of the nation’s communities to reflect on the outcome of this case and consider carefully the harm they are doing to their citizens by refusing to cooperate with federal law enforcement officers.”

In his 2015 confession, a local news station interviewed Lopez-Sanchez, and he said he sought out San Francisco because it was a sanctuary city that would not deport him from the U.S.

“Sanchez said he knew San Francisco was a sanctuary city where he would not be pursued by immigration officials,” the local report added.

While walking with her father on a pier in San Francisco in 2015, Steinle was shot by the illegal alien. Steinle pleaded with her father to not let her die, but she soon passed in her father’s arms.

Steinle’s death has not only caused a national debate on immigration policy, but the killing has galvanized a grassroots movements of pro-American immigration reformers and Angel Parents — the family members of Americans killed by illegal aliens — to demand a crackdown on illegal immigration and a legal immigration policy that puts the jobs, needs, and lives of Americans first.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.