LA Police Immigrant Protocol

the number of felons who re-enter the United States illegally appears to be on the rise and the Los Angeles police department comes across thousands of them every year.

The Associated Press reports that Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton wants to allow officers to question suspected felons about their immigration status if they are believed to have been deported and then returned to the U.S. illegally. Bratton hopes it will help his department take repeat criminals off the street and reduce crime.

According to the Associated Press, Bratton's attempt to "clarify" department policy is the latest proposal by LA area law enforcement agencies to enforce federal immigration laws.

In Orange County, Sheriff Mike Carona wants to train as many as 500 deputies to nab illegal immigrants who have been convicted of a crime. The plan calls for deputies to check the status of people in jail or under investigation for serious crimes.

In Los Angeles County, Sheriff Lee Baca has received approval to train seven civilian employees this summer for a six-month pilot program to identify jail inmates who are eligible for deportation.

Bratton stressed that the Los Angeles police policy, implemented in 1979, won't be changed but enhanced. It already allows officers to notify their supervisors about suspected felons who are undocumented. The supervisors in turn can contact federal immigration authorities, who can request an arrest warrant from a judge.

The Los Angeles Daily News reports that under Bratton's "clarification" Police officers will be allowed to inquire about immigrant status in three situations:

If an officer recognizes a suspect deported from a past arrest and conviction; if police intelligence identifies a suspect who has been deported and returned to the country illegally; or if officers learn that somebody already arrested fits the criteria.

It's simply amazing that there is even a second thought given to the idea that a law enforcement agency would ask a suspected illegal alien about the suspected illegal's status.

Comments

[Republitarian Renegade]

I heard a radio interview Chief Bratton gave where he was questioned about the policy that police officers are not allowed to ask the legal status of a suspects citizenship. His response was if you don't like the policy, "Get over it or move." Real inventive guy!

I guess the troubles that were being brought to his attention a little over a year ago during his interview, have finally garnered some attention on his desk.