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Victim of brutal 2008 illegal migrant attack speaks out about Harris’ record as prosecutor
A California woman who in 2008 fell victim to a violent attack at the hands of an undocumented immigrant is speaking out against Vice President Kamala Harris, who as San Francisco District Attorney, launched a program that set the victim’s attacker free.
Amanda Kiefer was walking with a group of friends in San Francisco when 20-year-old Alexander Izaguirre stole her purse and then attempted to run her down in a waiting SUV, fracturing the woman’s skull.
Izaguirre, who was in the country illegally, had been arrested a few months prior to the attack on drug charges but was able to roam free thanks to a program launched by Harris, then the city’s district attorney, that allowed non-violent offenders to avoid jail and instead enter job training and eventually have their records expunged.
Kiefer, who was 29 at the time of the attack, is now speaking out about the trauma for the first time in 15 years, telling ABC News that the incident was a “wake up” call for her.
HARRIS FAILED TO COMBAT ‘ROOT CAUSES’ OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION, FORMER BORDER PATROL UNION CHIEF SAYS
“When a policy negatively affects you, you wake up,” Keifer, now 45, told the outlet.
The brutal attack has re-entered the spotlight after the Republican National Committee released a two-minute campaign advertisement targeting Harris, arguing that the now-vice president and Democratic nominee for president was “liberal on illegal immigration before she ever reached the White House.”
The ad highlighted the case of Kiefer, saying that Harris “allowed illegal immigrant drug dealers to enter job training” instead of being jailed.
“If people who committed crimes were allowed to stay out of prison to train for jobs they couldn’t legally hold, I think most Americans would disapprove of that,” Kiefer said of the program.
The ABC News report highlighted that Harris has in the past acknowledged that the program, which was called “Back on Track” and was touted as being “smart on crime,” was not perfect, telling the Los Angeles Times in 2009 that there was a “flaw in the design” of the program that allowed illegal immigrants to remain free, even though they would be unlikely to take advantage of the job training.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Westover High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on July 18, 2024. (ALLISON JOYCE/AFP via Getty Images)
THE MEDIA’S SUDDEN REJECTION OF KAMALA HARRIS’ ‘BORDER CZAR’ LABEL
“The whole point of the program [was] … to obtain and hold down lawful employment” — and that someone in the country illegally “probably would not be able to do that, so it would go against the very spirit of the program,” Harris said at the time.
“I believe we fixed it,” Harris added. “So moving forward, it is about making sure that no one enters Back on Track if they cannot hold legal employment.”
The RNC ad and Kiefer speaking out on the issue comes as the Trump campaign seeks to highlight Harris’ record on the border, an issue that has been politically challenging for an administration that saw illegal crossings reach all-time highs before recent asylum restrictions helped those numbers dip to a three-year low in June.
Harris was given a prominent role in helping address the crisis in the early days of the administration, being tasked by President Biden to lead an effort to address the “root causes” of illegal migration, most notably through diplomatic outreach to the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
President Biden speaks with a member of the U.S. Border Patrol as they walk along the U.S.-Mexico border fence in El Paso, Texas, on Jan. 8, 2023. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
However, critics say the vice president’s work on the issue was a failure, arguing that Harris did not do enough to prevent what would become a growing crisis.
“It’s very disappointing,” Brandon Judd, who recently retired as president of the Border Patrol Union, told Fox News Digital of Harris’ border record last week. “We gave her the policies that she needed to implement. She refused to implement those.”
Kiefer, meanwhile, told ABC News that the experience was a “red pill moment” for her, leading her to abandon what she said were her liberal political views from the time and embrace candidates such as former President Trump.
The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
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One person is dead and two others are missing near Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay after a boat with 19 people aboard capsized Tuesday afternoon, officials said.
A vessel was reported to be on fire around 600 yards off Alcatraz around 3:35 p.m., and police found a capsized three-deck pontoon boat, San Francisco Fire Chief Dean Crispen said.
The incident was initially reported as a fire, but no first responders reported witnessing a blaze, Crispen said.
Everyone on the boat is believed to have been adults, Crispen said. A dog was also on board and is dead, he said.
Thirteen people were safely rescued, and another three were transported to hospitals, Crispen said.
Firefighters are “in full rescue mode,” with 11 boats and divers as part of the response, Crispen said.
“We are going to continue for hours to make sure that we find these two missing people, if possible,” Crispen said.
“It seemed like a recreational-type vessel, but that’s all we know at this point,” Crispen told reporters.
The vessel reportedly launched from a yacht club, and investigators were still gathering information, he said.
Helicopter footage from NBC Bay Area showed responding rescue boats and debris floating in the water. Video from the station appeared to show some of the rescued with blankets on shore.
Local police departments and private vessels also responded to the incident, Crispen said.
“This is an all-hands-on-deck search and hopefully rescue,” San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said.
When first responders arrived, some people were in the water, others were on the sinking boat, and others were falling into the water, Crispen said.
Alcatraz Island is the site of the famous prison located in San Francisco Bay, around 1 mile offshore. It was closed as a federal prison in 1963 and is now a National Park.
Crispen said the search would be extensive.
“Our standard operating procedure is to continue to search, as long as it’s safe enough for us to search,” he said.
He said divers were in the water, helicopters were above, and officials were searching areas where survivors in the water would tend to move to.
“This search will go on for some time,” Crispen said.
After so many disappointing seasons with the interior offensive line, the Seattle Seahawks made a commitment last offseason to improve the unit. They started one big step at a time by drafting North Dakota State guard Grey Zabel in the first round, 18th overall pick, of the 2025 NFL Draft. This one was one of the last steps for the Seahawks to create one of the most productive offenses in the NFL.
Zabel wasn’t perfect in his rookie season, but he was good enough to validate the decision to draft him in the first round, and he showed improvement. Zabel is already a favorite among some Seahawks fans and some media outlets as they love his determination and spirit. It was a big jump from the FCS collegiate level to the NFL and this season, he has a chance to show why he might be a top-half-of-the-league guard.
Why Zabel Could Be Ranked Higher?
The Seahawks wanted a determined workhorse when looking for a guard. That’s exactly what they got in Zabel. Last season, he appeared in 1,051 snaps, which is only 10 fewer snaps than right tackle Abraham Lucas, who had the most offensive snaps. Zabel got better as the season progressed. Pro Football Focus gave him an overall grade of 81.5 and a run-block grade of 81.2 in Week 14 through the NFC Championship Game.
There were times last season when he looked like a monster against several defenders. He was pushing some defenders completely out of the way on pulling plays and even ran to defenders after the pass-catcher caught the ball. This is the mentality the Seahawks expect him to have going into his second season in the league. He has more experience and the complete trust of the team to be a franchise player on par with Lucas and left tackle Charles Cross. If he continues to improve, he will be another steal for the Seahawks.
Why Zabel Could Be Ranked Lower?
There were times last season when he didn’t quite catch up to the learning curve of the NFL. Zabel allowed two sacks, four hits and 24 pressures in 2025. The Seahawks expect those numbers to decrease significantly as he is experienced and capable of playing at an efficient level. While Zabel is impressive, he might not be the best player the Seahawks have selected in the 2025 NFL Draft. That honor belongs to slot cornerback Nick Emmanwori, who is stepping up to be the steal of the draft.
Zabel is easily one of the best second-year players and is one of the top offensive linemen, but there are players behind him because they haven’t proven to be consistently explosive for the Seahawks. There is going to be even more pressure on him this upcoming season. The Seahawks hired a more run-friendly coach in Brian Fleury as offensive coordinator. His ranking at the end of the season might be much better if he improves, or worse if he fails to reach expectations.
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