The new Los Angeles Police Department chief said he will work to protect immigrants as the incoming Donald Trump administration seeks to carry out mass deportations across the country.
Speaking to The Associated press, Jim McDonnell, who took office last month, said his tenure will be marked by high engagement with the community. He also vowed to rebuild the police force and take it back to at least 10,000 officers (there are currently under 9,000).
LAPD doesn't stop people or take action related to their migratory status and doesn't enforce immigration laws, McDonnell said. He added that has been the case for 45 years, a reference to a policy known as Special Order 40 that was enacted in 1979.
The directive is part of a broader impulse by California authorities to shield its residents from Trump's proposed policies, especially those regarding deportation. California Governor Gavin Newsom and lawmakers are set to implement a set of progressive policies ahead of Trump's inauguration on that end.
They include protection for abortion access, state-funded health care for all low-income residents regardless of immigration status, and the transition to electric vehicles. California has positioned itself as a leader in progressive policies, often at odds with federal conservative agendas.
The the Los Angeles Unified School District has also declared itself a sanctuary for migrants and the LGBTQ+ community, adopting resolutions that reassert schools as safe havens from immigration enforcement and that prevent employees from voluntarily sharing the immigration status of students and their families with federal agents.
Likewise, the city of Los Angeles passed a law that prohibits its resources, including city employees and the police department, from being used to carry out federal immigration enforcement, NBC News reports.
Trump's newly appointed "border czar" Thomas Homan has made his position clear on the matter, saying that the new administration has plans to withhold federal funds from states and municipalities that refuse to cooperate with its mass deportation initiatives.
During an interview on CBS on Sunday, however, State Senator Alex Padilla emphasized that California law enforcement is under no obligation to assist federal authorities with immigration enforcement: "I think there's an important distinction here. No state government, not Texas, not California, not any state in the nation has a constitutional authority to impose federal immigration law that is the responsibility of the federal government."
Padilla was also part of a group of Latino senators who urged President Joe Biden to take action to protect immigrant groups that might lose their legal status as soon as Trump takes office.
The senators, which also include Ben Ray Lujan from New mexico and Catherine Cortez Masto from Nevada, wrote a letter to Biden on Wednesday, asking him to strengthen the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program and speed up the renewal process for programs like Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), according to The Hill.
"We write today to urge you to act decisively during the remainder of your term of office to complete important work that will protect long-term immigrant communities and ensure that families are not returned to countries where they would face immense danger," the senators wrote.
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