Most Law Enforcement Will Not Help Deport Illegal Immigrants Under Trump

Most Law Enforcement Will Not Help Deport Illegal Immigrants Under Trump

Los Angeles, California – The LAPD made a statement Monday saying that they will not help deport illegal immigrants under Donald Trump. This follows the stance of most law enforcement agencies in the country.

Charlie Beck, Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, stated on Monday that he has no plans to change his departments stance on immigration, the LA Times Reports. One of President-Elect Trump’s leading platforms was building the Mexico wall and deporting illegal immigrants back to their home countries, but it looks like he’s not going to get the help from one of the largest police departments in the United States.

The Los Angeles Police Department has always steered clear of federal immigration laws and has stopped turning over illegal immigrants to federal agencies for small crimes. Chief Beck told the press on Monday

“I don’t intend on doing anything different,” he said. “We are not going to engage in law enforcement activities solely based on somebody’s immigration status. We are not going to work in conjunction with Homeland Security on deportation efforts. That is not our job, nor will I make it our job.”

Captain Jeff Scroggin, spokesperson for the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Office, is taking the same stance as the LAPD:

“We just want people to come forward so we have a better community. It doesn’t matter whether they’re an immigrant or going through the process of citizenship,” Scroggin said. “Whatever it is, we want to hear from them. We don’t want them to not cooperate. It’s important to keep the community safe. We never ask about immigration status.”

State, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies do not even have the authority to enforce federal law. Immigration law is federal, and local law enforcement agencies are not involved. Furthermore, local law enforcement agencies want crime victims to be willing to come forward. If illegal immigrants are afraid of being deported by making a police report, then it will open them up to be victimized without consequences because they would be unable to report crime to the police without being deported.

Trump’s best chance of getting any help from local agencies is to have them notify Immigration and Custom Enforcement when they jail a criminal illegal immigrant. However, many jails have now implemented a policy where they will not even notify federal authorities when they have a criminal illegal immigrant in their facility. If Trump wants to ramp up deportations, he’s going to have to do so at a federal level.

Just because Donald Trump is going to be the 45th president of the United States doesn’t mean cops are going to be cruising through your neighborhood looking for immigrants to deport.

Do you think that local law enforcement should be involved in the deportation process? Let us know on our Facebook page or int he comments below.