[Any immigration enforcement would be] undercutting our primary mission, which is to be able to build public trust to work with every member of all of our communities, to be able to have hope that people will come forward if they were a victim of crime, a witness to a crime. I want to be unequivocal, LAPD will protect LA’s immigrant community. We will not cooperate with mass deportations.

Especially in the face of growing threats to the immigrant communities here in Los Angeles, I stand with the people of this city…This moment demands urgency. Immigrant protections make our communities stronger and our city better. I want to thank City Attorney Feldstein Soto for her work and I look forward to working with Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Councilmember Nithya Raman, Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez and other members of the Council to enact needed protections for the immigrant communities of Los Angeles. Solidarity is an action, not rhetoric. Los Angeles stands together.

No matter who is in the White House, in California, we will continue to lead with California values. California is the most diverse state in the nation, and immigrants are the backbone of our economy, history, and culture. We will not be caught flat-footed if the President-elect follows through on his threats of mass deportation…Many public institutions already have policies in place for how to respond to immigration enforcement authorities – and we advise those who do not to make a plan today. My office will continue to use the full force of the law and every tool at our disposal to protect the rights of California’s immigrants – and we need staff at these critical locations to do the same. We cannot let the Trump deportation machine create a culture of fear and mistrust that prevents immigrants from accessing vital public services.

When federal immigration authorities, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and U.S. Border Patrol, coerce local law enforcement to carry out deportations, family members are separated and community trust in law enforcement and local government is destroyed…Witnesses and victims who are undocumented or who have loved ones who are undocumented are afraid to come to the County for help, which includes calling local law enforcement. This puts the public safety of all San Diegans at risk.