for immediate release // excuse cross-posting
Contact: B. Loewe, NDLON, 773.791.4668, bloewe@ndlon.org
On one year anniversary of landmark CA TRUST ACT, is Los Angeles poised to buck national trend of de-Arizonification?
ICE Out of LA Coalition to Rally Before BOS Vote.
October 6, 2014 – Los Angeles, CA
Though hard to believe, there are rumors that the LA Board of Supervisors might vote to extend 287(g), a deportation program that has been discredited and essentially abandoned across the country.
Conceived as a program to “disappear” immigrants without due process or probable cause, the program works hand in hand with the infamous Se Communities program. The result of jail based deportations has been a deportation surge, civil rights violations, and erosion of public safety. In fact, in LA County, 44% of Latinos report being less likely to call the police out of fear that authorities will investigate their immigration status. Even the notorious Sheriff Joe Arpaio has acknowledged that the 287(g) program caused racial profiling.
Now, 250 jurisdictions have taken steps to protect residents from brutal, unconstitutional detainer initiated deportations. On the eve of vote in Los Angeles, residents, immigrants, civil rights leaders, and labor leaders are planning to rally at the Board of Supervisors tomorrow morning at 9:00 am to oppose the program outside of the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, 500 West Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012.
Pablo Alvarado, Executive Director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) states, “From Washington DC to LA county, there is a trust deficit right now when it comes to policymaking on immigration. We fully expect LA supervisors to do the right thing and continue progress toward creating a clear line between local police and deportation efforts by ending the 287(g) agreement. The TRUST Act passed one year ago was a major step forward followed by Los Angeles refusing to submit to Immigration’s unconstitutional detainer requests. Now the Board has the opportunity to further remove Arizona-style policies from LA’s books.”
Luis Ojeda, from the California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance (CIYJA), says, “There is no reason for ICE to be in LA jails period. Particularly for the Supervisors who are primarily motivated by public safety considerations , this should be an easy vote as there is a mountain of evidence that 287(g) has undermined community safety.”
“It’s rather surprising that there is still a debate on 287g,” explains Shiu-Ming Cheer, Immigration Attorney with the National Immigration Law Center. “As federal courts have found across the country, programs like this are on shaky Constitutional grounds. Los Angeles County should do what’s best for our residents and get rid of this immoral and discredited program.”
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