Three months before the Bologna murders, Ramos was stopped in the notorious Tenderloin district, and his passenger tried to dispose of a handgun that had been used in a double murder the day before. Ramos was arrested on felony weapons charges, as well as membership in a criminal street gang. Three days after his arrest, Ramos was freed when city prosecutors declined to file charges against him. And ICE did not ask about Ramos' immigration status until after he was released.

Retired San Francisco Police Capt. Tim Hettrich says San Francisco Police Chief Heather Fong told him, "You are not to work with these (federal) people," and it was "common knowledge" in the department that "you were not to do anything with ICE or immigration and illegals, whether or not they committed a crime -- even to arrest them -- because there will be the perception we are harassing illegals."

I recently interviewed Brian DeMore, field office director for ICE detention and removal operations in Los Angeles. DeMore declined to speculate about why the alleged killer of the Bolognas, Ramos, remained on the streets. But he agreed that Shaw's killer, Pedro Espinoza, should have remained in custody and referred to ICE.

Elder: It seems to me what's supposed to happen is as follows: Someone gets arrested. There's an inquiry made by local law enforcement -- police or county -- about this person's immigration status. The immigration status is not clarified to the satisfaction of the local law enforcement. Therefore, this person should remain in jail until such time as the local law enforcement is satisfied that this person is -- or is not -- an illegal alien.

DeMore: Absolutely. At that point, that local police department would call ICE, or we would make contact with them under Secure Communities because we would receive an electronic notification that they've got someone in custody. We have an incredibly large task ahead of us. We could always use more individuals. But we are leveraging technology to overcome some of those shortfalls. The interoperability -- where our data will seamlessly integrate with the FBI's, and anyone who makes a query with biometric data or through fingerprints is going to be identified -- will be revolutionary and groundbreaking. We are claiming that within 3 1/2 years, we will be able to interview, detain and remove 100 percent of the Level 1 violators (those convicted of major drug or violent offenses), with Levels 2 (minor drug or property offenses) and 3 (other offenses) falling into line shortly thereafter.

Small comfort to the families of Jamiel Shaw and Tony, Michael and Matthew Bologna.