LOS ANGELES — City and county officials are taking action to combat the tactics of U.S. immigration agents amid ongoing enforcement raids in the Southland.
The county Board of Supervisors directed its attorneys July 1 to explore legal remedies to prevent so-called “unconstitutional” federal immigration enforcement.
According to a motion introduced by Supervisors Hilda Solis and Lindsey Horvath, since June 6, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel have intensified immigration raids in the county, detaining people on streets, at shopping sites, parking lots and churches, and have even attempted to enter schools.
“Over the last few weeks, federal agents, often in unmarked vehicles, without visible badges, in regular street clothes and masked faces, have detained people indiscriminately, at times even taking U.S. citizens,” the motion stated. “This includes numerous reported instances of individuals questioned and detained without a judicial warrant and without reasonable suspicion.”
Solis stressed that the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution protects individuals from unreasonable search and seizures.
“When law enforcement officers stop, question, or detain someone without reasonable suspicion, or when they make an arrest without probable cause, they are indeed violating that person’s constitutional and civil rights,” Solis said.
She cited data gathered by UC Berkeley Law that between June 1 and 10, ICE data showed 722 arrests in Los Angeles, while a Los Angeles Times analysis found that 69% of those individuals had no criminal conviction, and 58% were never charged with a crime. The analysis also found the arrests were mostly men, with a majority from Latin America.
Solis also cited data from the Department of Homeland Security that between June 6 and 22, more than 1,600 individuals were detained or deported in Southern California.
Horvath said everyone is entitled to due process and deserves to have their civil rights upheld.
“Democracy is not a given — we must fight to continue the best of our constitutional traditions,” Horvath said. “We cannot sit on the sideline as the rights of our communities are violated. We must do everything in our power to protect our residents and fight back.”
Board Chair Supervisor Kathryn Barger said federal efforts also were undermining local law enforcement, adding to public fear.
The board directed county attorneys to explore legal remedies to prevent “unconstitutional or unlawful” immigration enforcement activities, including “unlawfully stopping, questioning or detaining individuals without reasonable suspicion, or arresting individuals without probable cause or a valid warrant.”
Approving a related motion by Supervisors Solis and Janice Hahn, the board also directed the Department of Youth Development, Public Defender, and Alternate Public Defender to develop a “Know Your Rights” campaign to educate youth participating in civil unrest.
As part of the campaign, the board called for the development of educational materials and workshops tailored for youth who are participating in protests, walkouts, demonstrations and other forms of civic engagement.
Two members of the Los Angeles City Council called on the Los Angeles Police Department to enact new policies requiring officers to verify the identities of anyone claiming to be law enforcement and to increase penalties for impersonating public safety personnel.
City Council members Eunisses Hernandez and Bob Blumenfield introduced two motions July 1 to bring transparency to federal immigration enforcement in Los Angeles. The motions were referred to the Civil Rights, Equity, Immigration, Aging and Disability Committee for consideration.
“Angelenos are overwhelmed with fear and confusion right now, especially immigrant and mixed-status families,” Hernandez said in a statement. “There are plainclothes individuals in unmarked vehicles taking community members off the street without presenting warrants and while refusing to identify themselves — even to other law enforcement officers like the LAPD.
“There must be accountability and transparency to keep our communities safe,” she added.
The two council members seek to codify and enhance LAPD’s Policy Notice 11.2, which outlines procedures for responding to federal immigration enforcement and proposes turning these protocols into law via a city ordinance, which would require LAPD officers to verify the identification of individuals claiming to be a law enforcement officer — including those from federal agencies such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The motion also directs the City Attorney’s Office, with support from the volunteer Board of Police Commissioners that oversees LAPD, to assist with the effort.
The second motion would direct the city attorney to increase penalties for impersonating public safety officers and reaffirm residents’ rights to request and receive proof of identity and legal authority during any enforcement or detention.
