Why Can’t Cops Enforce Immigration Laws?
LAPD officers will get a more active role in apprehending illegal alien gang members if a proposed law passes.
In Los Angeles, we will soon learn the results of a petition drive aimed at placing Jamiel’s Law on ballots for the city’s May 2009 municipal election. The proposed law, written by upstart mayoral candidate Walter Moore, would give Los Angeles Police Department officers a more active role in identifying and apprehending illegal alien street gang members. Currently, LAPD officers are for the most part prohibited from taking action against illegal aliens under the terms of Special Order 40, a 1979 revision to the department’s regulations. The “Jamiel” of the law’s title refers to Jamiel Shaw, a 17-year-old Los Angeles resident who was shot and killed last March. That a young man should meet such a fate is, sadly, not all that uncommon in some parts of Los Angeles, but what made Jamiel’s murder all the more tragic is the manifest failure of his government, both local and federal, to prevent it from happening.
The man accused of murdering Jamiel and now awaiting trial is Pedro Espinoza, a 19-year-old illegal alien from Mexico. News reports have chronicled Espinoza’s lengthy criminal history as well as his membership in the 18th Street gang, which taken together might be expected to have attracted the attention of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents. Alas, only a day before he allegedly murdered Jamiel Shaw, Espinoza was released from Los Angeles County Jail after serving a sentence for brandishing a handgun at a public park. Systems already in place at the jail should have identified Espinoza as a deportable alien and landed him in the clutches of ICE agents. How exactly those systems failed in this case has yet to be satisfactorily explained.
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“Jack Dunphy” is the pseudonym of an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. The opinions expressed are his own and almost certainly do not reflect those of the LAPD management.
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23 Comments
1. Maggie:“Jack Dunphy” is the pseudonym of an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department.
Bravo to Jack for speaking out.
Dec 8, 2008 - 5:56 am 2. Daedalus:This sounds nice, but I believe in the end, the bleeding heart liberals and social elites who need their gardeners and nannies will manage to kill the proposal. Hopefully I am wrong, but time will tell.
Dec 8, 2008 - 7:02 am 3. Bill Perron:L. A. isn’t called La La land just because it’s initials are an L and an A, it is because this whole area has all the nut cases that just seem to gravitate here. Not just in show business but politics, education, manufacturing, etc. the eveyday people you meet a screwy,
Dec 8, 2008 - 8:09 am 4. G-Ma:This happening more and more. Illegals are killing/murdering our citizens with guns and cars. Wasn’t a father and son killed recently in California?
Dec 8, 2008 - 8:51 am 5. Scott Gunsaullus:Maybe “we the people” need to find a way to report the illegals to ICE ourselves. We need a good cop to pass the info to us so we could act. See Jack Murphy as an example. Thanks, Jack!
Here are a couple of statistics taken from the California Attorney General’s office. Since 1979, California’s population has nearly doubled. Today, violent crime is basically the same or lower than it was in 1979. Violent crimes reported per 100,000 residents have decreased steadily since 1992 and are now at the same level or lower than they were in 1979.
As for “securing the borders,” as a code word for “kick the immigrants out,” it plays very well with the conservative base and with the white working class but belies any serious attempt to change the status quo.
Do you like tomatoes and strawberries? What about hamburgers? How would you like to pay twice as much for those and other domestic meat and produce? If we kicked the immigrants out, that’s exactly what would happen.
Almost everything we eat involves the use of a largely undocumented workforce. If we stopped using illegals, we would have to pay their legitimate replacements a higher wage. American industry takes advantage of the informal status of the immigrant workforce, because they are not in a position to demand market-rate compensation. Their pressence depresses wages nationally and thus helps keep inflation in check.
Any formalization or amnesty policy for immigrants would increase those workers ability to organize and to demand market-rate wages. No one in power, particularily in the agriculture sector, want this to happen either. The result is a stalemate that is not likely to change any time soon.
The “debate” on immigration is basically just a trillion dollar charade in the spirit of good cop vs. bad cop. Those on the Right wail on and on about securing the borders and kicking the illegals out. Except for an occasional raid, the rhetoric amounts to very little but serves to keep the immigrant workforce in line. Meanwhile, progressives pander to the interests of the immigrants but also fail to deliver substantial changes. Both sides are in the pocket of industries that stand to loose billions if anything changes.
No one wants to pay more for a hamburger.
Dec 8, 2008 - 9:13 am 6. urbanleftbehind:Jamiel’s Law will only hurt the tattoo industry in the near term.
Dec 8, 2008 - 9:42 am 7. G-Ma:Scott, you have identified why we have so many illegals here. It is a problem the US doesn’t have enough money to fix. But something must be done
Dec 8, 2008 - 9:52 am 8. dscott:to lock up/deport those that are thieves and murders.
If we stopped using illegals, we would have to pay their legitimate replacements a higher wage. American industry takes advantage of the informal status of the immigrant workforce, because they are not in a position to demand market-rate compensation. Their pressence depresses wages nationally and thus helps keep inflation in check.
Bingo, thanks for admitting illegal aliens depress wages. So you now justify depressing the wages of the poor (those at the bottom of the economic ladder) because you don’t want to pay another nickle for your tomato? And you liberals call conservatives stingy and heartless?
BTW-It is because of illegals who can’t afford health care and they stick us collectively with the bill via higher fees and medical insurance premiums. Then cost us higher property taxes to educate their children. Then we pay higher taxes to offset the higher unemployment of US citizens who were displaced by them, food stamps and other federal and state benefits for the poor whose wages are depressed. Why? Because you don’t want to pay another nickle on your salad? And by your own admission had US citizens who were crowded out of those fields not had competition from illegals they would be making a decent wage because the farmer would have been forced to pay higher wages or face a labor shortage. The facts are most field hands were US citizens until they driven out by the illegals. Gee, you liberals are so thoughtful and compassionate of the poor. (sarcasm)
Maybe you need to take an economics course, a product is only worth what the market will bear. If the public deems the price of a tomato too high, they buy less of it. This presents the farmer with a choice, innovate to find a cheaper means of producting and bringing that tomato to market or grow something else. If you bothered to keep up with what is going on in harvesting of labor intensive crops you would find that automation is beginning to developed to pick those tomatoes. One small example of what is happening – http://www.agriculture.purdue.edu/aganswers/story.asp?storyID=3745 Or a strawberry picker under development – http://www.tcsae.org/ch/common/create_pdf.aspx?file_no=20081018&flag=1 Just like Automation changed the labor utilization on the farm 50 and 60 years ago, now less than 2% of the workforce is on the farm and yet farmers produce multiple times the amount of food. If the farmer believes he/she can make a better profit growing another crop they will grow something else. The market is self regulating in that manner. The irony is liberals really hate change, they are all about the status quo. What’s worse, artifically low wages by flooding the market with poor people also slows down technological progress as the emphesis for finding a better means to do something has LESS appeal. Necessity is the mother of invention, high labor cost spark automation, ask the morons at the UAW about this.
Thanks for playing.
Dec 8, 2008 - 10:21 am 9. urbanleftbehind:A lot of the native “unemployed” arent worth the trouble. If I see black conservatives protesting a factory which appears to be staffed by presumed illegals, I’m apt to counter protest dressed as Dennis the Menace (child labor) or as a Robot (automation) holding a sign saying -You still wont get this Job!!!-You wont see any real positive movement until the boys come home from Iraq and Afghanistan in large numbers. Eisenhower didnt launch Operation Wetback until one full year after the conclusion of the Korean War.
Dec 8, 2008 - 10:29 am 10. Bill Perron:Scott Gunsaullus also neglected to include that the tax payer picks up the tab for all the illegals kids going to school, all the medical expenses that they need because they use up the emergency rooms, that more children of illegals are being born in California at a mucho hugher rate than citizens childrens birth rate. If the illegals moved out rental rates would drop by at least 40% because they use up a lot of space. Over 2 Billion goes out each year in food stamps to feed ‘em, 3 MILLION a day to incarcerate the criminal illegals, their crime rate is almost 3 times that of the citizen caucasions, they send back to their countries of origin 45 Billion a year. There are other expenses that I could add in, but to get to the bottom line they cost the U.S. $338.3 BILLION A YEAR !!! That is way over what the Iraq war costs and yet no protest parades down Hollywood Blvd. by the bleeding hearts. …Scott needs to include ALL the facts to be relevant or else he will be just another ill informed tax payer who is getting ripped off as he loses his country to the illegal invasion.
Dec 8, 2008 - 10:35 am 11. momof3:dscott, you forgot the money we pay illegals directly in welfare and food stamps. Virtually no welfare office asks for proof of citizenship. It’s disgusting. I’d be happy to double-pay my tomatoes to get them out. My mom grew up picking cotton for $.05 a HOUR, so don’t tell me Americans won’t work for cheap.
When I first heard about the law that made it illegal (I forget where) for cops to ask immigrants if they were legal, I thought it was good. People are less likely to report being raped or robbed if they fear deportation. Now I’ve rethought that. Should it be open season on committing crimes against illegals? No. Nor should they get to stay here if they commit one. If a cop can’t enforce US law, who does? Oh, yeah, no one…..
People overwhelmingly stay within their socio-economic group when committing crimes. To the tune of well over 90%. Blacks kill blacks. Hispanics rob hispanics, whites rape whites. So the people committing crimes on illegals are very likely illegals. This law change would benefit the victims.
Dec 8, 2008 - 10:36 am 12. Jim:“Do you like tomatoes and strawberries? What about hamburgers? How would you like to pay twice as much for those and other domestic meat and produce?”
Translation: The God-almighty consumer gets cheap goods because illegal labor is exploited and paid half wages, but still has to survive here paying the full rate for everything. Why bother with institutional slavery when you can get all the benefits without the effort?
Dec 8, 2008 - 1:55 pm 13. Ann:This really isn’t about strawberries and tomatoes and prices on them–and as long as we accept that premise the situation will not be dealt with. It’s about this question: Are we or are we not a nation governed by laws? (Hint: that includes enforcing them regardless of “unintended consequences”)
Under current circumstances, the answer is “no.”
If we want to have a substantial future, the answer must turn to “yes.”
Dec 8, 2008 - 2:41 pm 14. ohgoodgrief:As the LAPD officer who had the unenviable task of publishing Special Order 40, I would like to point out that even with the LAPD (and other) officers empowered to take action when encountering Illegal Aliens, the cooperation of Customs and Border Protection/I.C.E. would have to be MUCH better. Even then, the use of immigration laws to police the cities would take years to have the desired effect. In 1979, the floodgates were opened. I don’t think they can be easily closed.
Dec 8, 2008 - 9:01 pm 15. Bill Perron:The flood gates were opened and they can also be closed. Take away the benefits of being here and they will have no reason to stay. Of course you will have the L. A. Times and other lefties who don’t give a damn about the overburdened public services and the overburdened citizen tax payer, but their cries of indignation will only be heard as the sounds of joy to any thinking person.
Dec 8, 2008 - 9:50 pm 16. Mark:Going slightly off the subject…the illegal immigrants that commit crime – there’s always a cry from the left saying that it’s unfair for us to ship them back to their own country. There’s a lot of illegal immigration news concerning this problem. This country is going down the tubes and Obama is going to help it along by giving amnesty to over 10 million people that shouldn’t be here in the first place.
Dec 8, 2008 - 11:06 pm 17. zanne:10 million? double that figure.
Dec 9, 2008 - 5:53 pm 18. Jim:“10 million? double that figure.”
Well, less now that housing starts have collapsed and people are mowing their own grass.
Dec 10, 2008 - 10:05 am 19. Deputy Dan:Jack is an idol to thinking cops everywhere. The problem is national, though LA is always on the tip of the left’s spear in social experiments. Though approved for 287G training more than a year ago, ICE under Bush II refuses to provide the training that would likely net thousands of illegal and CRIMINAL aliens in our county just as has happened in Metro Nashville. Don’t think we’re likely to get it under Obama’s watch either.
Our county health department seems to serve only Hispanic speaking folks these days, most pregnant with allegedly anchor babies. MS13 graffitti is everywhere…to the point Asian Pride and Gangster Disciples are getting angry, not to mention the Kurd gangs in Nashville!
Keep spanking the politicos, especially politicians with badges, Brother Jack!
Dec 10, 2008 - 11:53 am 20. Judge Gray:Please check out Judge Jim Gray’s website: http://www.judgejimgray.com or his blog at: http://judgejamesgray.blogspot.com/ Thanks!
Dec 11, 2008 - 6:26 pm 21. WestGuard:The Mexican government needs to make Mexico a country that Mexicans can be proud and happy to live in rather than have millions of their citizens commiting criminal trespassing to escape Mexico.
Dec 11, 2008 - 8:15 pm 22. zeezil:The Forgotten Issue: Illegal Immigration and Crime
By J. James Estrada
Two new studies were released in October on the relationship between illegal immigrants and crime in the U.S. The first released October 1, 2008, by the Center for Immigration Studies deals with gang activity, and the second, released October 3, 2008, by the Maricopa County Attorneys Office in Phoenix, Arizona, details the percentage of crimes committed by border violators in the third largest county in the U.S.
“Taking Back the Streets: ICE and Local Law Enforcement Target Immigrant Gangs” is the Center for Immigration Studies report that offers these highlights:
# Transnational immigrant gangs have been spreading rapidly and sprouting in suburban and rural areas where communities are not always equipped to deal with them.
# A very large share of immigrant gang members are illegal aliens and removable aliens. Federal sources estimate that 60 to 90 percent of the members of MS-13, the most notorious immigrant gang, are illegal aliens. In one jurisdiction studied, Northern Virginia, 30 to 40 percent of the gang task force case load were removable aliens.
# MS-13 activity was found in 48 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
# The immigrant gangsters arrested were a significant menace to the public. About 80 percent had committed serious crimes in addition to their immigration violations and 40 percent were violent criminals.
# While immigration law enforcement is a federal responsibility, ICE cannot do the job effectively without assistance from state and local law enforcement, particularly when it comes to immigrant gangs.
# Failure to adequately control the U.S.-Mexico border and to deter illegal settlement in general undermines the progress ICE and local law enforcement agencies have made in disrupting criminal immigrant street gangs.
The MCAO report from County Attorney Andrew Thomas features these startling numbers for prosecuted felony cases in Maricopa County, Arizona:
In 2007, illegal immigrants accounted for:
“10% of sex crimes convictions
“11% of murders convictions
“13% of stolen cars convictions
“13% of aggravated assaults convictions
” 17% of those sentenced for violent crimes
” 19% of those sentenced for property crimes
” 20% of those sentenced for felony DUI.
“21% of crimes committed with weapons
“34% of those sentenced for the manufacture, sale or transport of drugs
“36% of those sentenced for kidnapping
“44% of forgeries
“50% of those sentenced for crimes related to “chop shops”
“85% of false ID convictions
“96% of smuggling convictions
Illegal immigrants make up 19 percent of those convicted of crimes in Maricopa County and 21 percent of those in county jails.
Illegal immigrants only make up an estimated 9 percent of the county’s population.
It is estimated that each violent crime cost citizens $20,000, and each property crime cost citizens $4363 per offense.
All the more a concern is research that finds the likelihood of an illegal immigrant being incarcerated grows with longer residence in the United States and that the U.S. born children (considered citizens) of illegal immigrants are dramatically more likely to be involved in crime than their illegal immigrant parents. For instance, native born Hispanic male high school dropouts are eleven times more likely to be incarcerated than their foreign born counterparts.
While the illegal immigration crime link was off the radar screen in the presidential campaign, not even selected by Tom Brokaw for a question in the last presidential debate, it certainly bears reporting when new information that bolsters the questioned warnings many Americans have been sounding about safety, security, and border enforcement come to light.
Dec 14, 2008 - 2:52 pm 23. Mark Shrigley:…and one more thing – read some of General Patton’s quotes here. These are the words that the country has to take heed of what to do in a capitalistic society – even though we’re shrinking ever closer to Socialism. Or are we there now????
sent from: fav.or.it [FID4251683]
Jan 8, 2009 - 7:24 pm