The ACLU of Southern California (ACLU SoCal) commends Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, L.A. Police Chief Charlie Beck and City Attorney Mike Feuer for adopting a policy that no longer requires police to hold individuals in our city jails solely for immigration purposes.See map of ICE hold policies by county in California: https://www.aclusocal.org/ca-ice-holds
In doing so, they have recognized that public safety and police work depend on a community that feels safe to engage with the police. A program that asks local law enforcement to hold people for deportation purposes entangles the police with the civil immigration enforcement role of the federal government, causing distrust and fear of the police in our communities. L.A. City joins at least 34 counties in California that have now similarly announced they will no longer comply with immigration detention requests.
While Washington stalls on immigration reform, we need every county and city in California to say no to abiding by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) unconstitutional detention requests. Today, ACLU SoCal and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) sent letters to every city in the counties of Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside that, like the LAPD, similarly hold people beyond their release dates for ICE. We trust and expect that these cities will follow L.A.'s lead and end this unconstitutional practice.
Contact: Sandra Hernandez or Diana Rubio 213.977.5242
