LAPD Won't Help Trump Deport Immigrants, Chief Beck Announces

LOS ANGELES, CA — President-elect Donald Trump won’t get much help from the Los Angeles Police Department in his effort to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, Chief Charlie Beck said Monday.

The LAPD has no plans to change its longstanding immigration policy in which officers do not work with Homeland Security to assist with deportation, he said.

"I don't intend on doing anything different," Beck told the Los Angeles Times. "We are not going to engage in law enforcement activities solely based on somebody's immigration status. We are not going to work in conjunction with Homeland Security on deportation efforts. That is not our job, nor will I make it our job."

According to Beck, the LAPD operates under Special Order 40, a policy in place since 1979, that bars officers from contacting anyone just to determine their legal status in the country. The department also doesn’t refer low-level arrestees to federal authorities for deportation.

The policies put the LAPD squarely at odds with Trump’s pledge to deport millions of immigrants, starting with criminals.

Trump’s promise to round up and deport immigrants has sparked intense anxiety in Los Angeles, home to the nation’s largest population of Latino immigrants. Anti-Trump protests have broken out daily, and the Los Angeles Unified School District has offered counseling to students worried that they or their parents will be rounded up.

According to The Times, Mayor Eric Garcetti echoed Beck's immigration stance on Friday while speaking to members of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, telling the group Special Order 40 will remain in place.

"Our law enforcement officers and LAPD don't go around asking people for their papers, nor should they," Garcetti said. "That's not the role of local law enforcement."

Beck said his command staff have been meeting with community leaders to discuss concerns over immigration enforcement.

"This is the same LAPD you had Monday, a week ago," he said. "We have not changed because of the election on Tuesday. We have the same principles. We have the same values. This is not going to change the way that the Los Angeles Police Department enforces the law."

City News Service contributed to this report. Photo by Renee Schiavone