Los Angeles police Deputy Chief Robert Green said he and his team are working to “promote calm” amid concerns in the San Fernando Valley over the possibility of mass deportations of immigrants.
Many don’t understand what the Los Angeles Police Department can and can’t do when it comes to dealing with undocumented immigrants — and are concerned with hypothetical future scenarios not grounded in fact, said Green, who is commanding officer of LAPD’s Operations-Valley Bureau.
“We have to deal with reality and not feed into hysteria, because hysteria is not good for anyone,” Green said.
In the wake of President Donald Trump’s vows to deport millions of undocumented immigrants and amid speculation about what might actually happen, LAPD brass have been visiting houses of worship and interacting with community members to get the word out about the agency’s protocols, he said. The issue is also expected to be discussed at two LAPD community forums in the San Fernando Valley on Wednesday tackling themes around religion and immigration.
Los Angeles police do not conduct “administrative enforcement” for the federal government — because it needs community members to trust them, call them and testify as witnesses in order to prevent crime, Green said.
If someone is guilty of a violent felony and there’s a warrant in the system or a court order, then Los Angeles police are mandated to hold that individual for the federal government, he said. However, Los Angeles police do not arrest someone for a misdemeanor crime and hold them because they have an immigration detainer, Green said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement “has got to get that court order or that warrant; we’re not going to violate someone’s federal rights by holding them longer than we legally can so the federal government can pick them up,” he said.
When asked what the police department would do if the federal government tried to compel them to hand over lower-level offenders, Green declined to entertain the thought.
“Let’s just deal with facts and things that are in front of us,” he said.
He also noted that it was his belief that mass deportations would not happen — and that “this will settle down” at the end of the day. He cautioned that actions are different than rhetoric and argued there are enough “checks and balances” in place.
“We have three branches of government; we already see them working effectively together,” he said.
LAPD’s Operations-Valley Bureau’s Multi-Faith Religions Community Forum will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesday at Temple Beth Hillel, 12326 Riverside Drive, in Valley Village.
“We’re having a conversation about emerging issues that affect all the faith-based groups in the Valley — churches, synagogues, mosques,” Officer Robert Rothman of the Operations-Valley Bureau said.
It’s an opportunity for the public to meet with LAPD command staff, listen to the “big topics of the day” and voice any concerns and suggestions, Rothman said.
Along with Green, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Deputy Chief Mike Downing of LAPD’s Counterterrorism and Special Operations Bureau and Soraya Deen, founder of the Muslim Woman Speakers Movement and co-founder of Peacemoms, will be speaking at the event.
Downing, who is retiring next month, is expected to discuss religious persecution, trends in global terrorism, and the need to build relationships locally, police officials said.
LAPD Operations-Valley Bureau’s Immigration and Trust Forum will be held from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday at St. Didacus Church, 14337 Astoria St., in Sylmar.
The bilingual event will feature Bishop Joseph V. Brennan of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Capt. Rafael Ramirez of LAPD’s West Valley Division and Linda Lopez, Garcetti’s chief of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs.
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