According to a recent
L.A. Times article, the current culture of fear amidst the Trump administration’s crackdown
on immigration laws has caused Latinos to report fewer sexual assault
and domestic violence cases. From the beginning of 2017 through mid-March,
reports of sexual assault from the Latino community dropped 25% over reports
during this same time period in 2016, and reports of domestic violence
dropped 10%. However, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) did not
see similar decreases in crime reports from other ethnic communities during
the same time period. Meanwhile, in East Los Angeles, the mayor signed
an executive directive that expanded the existing LAPD policy of not stopping
individuals solely to question them about their immigration status, a
policy that has been in place since 1979. Under the new directive, the
policy now also includes three other city agencies: the Fire Department,
the Airport Police, and the Port Police. In 2014, LAPD also stopped the
practice of honoring requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) to detain individuals in their custody for potential deportation
proceedings. LAPD initiated these policies in order to prevent the immigrant
community from being so afraid of deportation that they will not report
crimes or cooperate with police. ICE’s response is that certain
crime victims and witnesses to crimes who have no legal status may be
able to obtain special visas that would allow them to remain in the country
legally. Furthermore, ICE stated, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
(USCIS) also can consider an individual’s status as a crime victim
in deciding whether to pursue deportation proceedings against that individual.
ICE claims that the LAPD’s refusal to honor its detainer requests
is a far greater risk to public safety than building stronger ties between
local law enforcement agencies and the immigrant community by not inquiring
about a person’s immigration status. Despite the federal administration’s
crackdown on immigrants without legal status, the skilled and knowledgeable
California immigration lawyers of
Landerholm Immigration, A.P.C.
are here to help immigrants get released from detention and defend them
from removal. We represent clients in these types of cases on a daily
basis; as a result, we can offer you our valuable knowledge about how
to best proceed in your removal case. By contacting our office right away,
your loved ones will have a better chance of winning release from detention
and succeeding in their removal proceedings.
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If you want to know more about the Biden's Proposed Immigration Reform, watch our video!