Board adopts resolution denouncing the deportation of student Steve Lee and urges deferred action and congressional action

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted a resolution denouncing the removal proceedings of Shing Ma “Steve” Lee, a City College student, and called on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to grant him deferred action while urging Congress to pass the DREAM Act.

Supervisor Eric Mar introduced the resolution and was joined by co-sponsors including President David Chiu, Supervisor John Avalos, Supervisor Daniel Campos, and Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi. The board’s action followed numerous public comments from City College students, faculty and community advocates who described Lee as a student pursuing nursing and seeking to contribute to the community.

Speakers from the Asian Law Caucus and City College said Lee, who was ordered removed as a juvenile and later detained in Arizona, never had meaningful notice of his immigration proceedings as a minor and had limited options to reopen his case. Advocates said they had filed a deferred-action request with ICE and urged the board to send a message to Congress, Senators Feinstein and Boxer and to ICE to exercise discretion.

Supervisor Mar praised the student organizing at City College and beyond, and urged colleagues to pass the resolution as both a local statement of support and a call for broader immigration reform. The board voted 11‑0 to adopt the resolution.

The resolution asks ICE to grant deferred action for Steve Lee and urges members of Congress to pass the DREAM Act or other legislative measures providing a pathway for eligible young people to legal status. City College students told the board Lee planned to pursue nursing and had community ties and supporters advocating on his behalf.

The board’s resolution is a nonbinding statement urging federal authorities and Congress to consider discretion in Lee’s case and to enact legislative relief for similarly situated young people.