LAPD Chief: We Won't Assist Feds in Deporting Immigrants

Los Angeles police officers will not assist the federal government in deporting immigrants according to a report in The Los Angeles Times.

"I don’t intend on doing anything different," LAPD Chief Charlie Beck told the L.A. Times Monday. "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."

President-elect Donald Trump ran his campaign on the premise that he would be very strict on immigration and build a wall between the Mexican and U.S. border. He also said he would deport millions of undocumented immigrants, clearing up that notion Sunday when he told CBS’ Lesley Stahl on ’60 Minutes’ that his administration would focus on deporting immigrants with criminal records first.

The LAPD has for a long time separated itself from federal immigration procedures. Officers cannot approach people with the objective of discovering if the person is an immigrant and, under Beck, the department has stopped turning people over to federal agents if they are arrested for low-level crimes.

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