We’ve now seen more than a week’s worth of politically charged emotional fiction pouring from sources ranging from KFI AM radio screamers John and Ken, to author Earl Ofari Hutchinson in yesterday’s LA Times op ed, to a new online column by Conor Friedersdorf in the Atlantic Monthly. All contain the message that murdered football star Jamiel Shaw would likely not have died were it not for the restrictions of Special Order 40—the 1979 police mandate adopted by then LAPD Chief Darryl Gates that prevents officers from questioning people solely to determine their immigration status or arresting them solely for violations of immigration law.
Here’s how those master’s of veracity John and Ken put it:
If Special Order 40 didn’t stand in the way, the illegal would have been deported, and Jamiel would be alive. It’s as simple as that. We say that Mayor Villar, Chief Bratton and the City Council have blood on their hands!
But let’s review the facts, shall we?
First of all, as the LA Times pointed out last week:
Special Order 40 had no role in Shaw’s killing. Illegal immigrant and 18th Street Gang member Pedro Espinoza was arrested in November by Culver City police — not the LAPD — and jailed on a weapons charge. Espinoza should have been held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement pending deportation. Instead, he was released, and an innocent and promising high school student was shot to death. The tragedy exposes deplorable failures in the jailhouse processing of illegal immigrant criminals, but it has nothing to do with the LAPD, much less with Special Order 40.
The truth is, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 subjects every non-citizen to mandatory deportation for committing an “aggravated felony”—which, according to the ’96 law, means convictions ranging from murder to minor onetime drug possession. If Espinoza was convicted on a weapons charge, federal law mandates that he be turned over to DHS for deportation, period the end.
Special Order 40 doesn’t come into play.
And, while we’re on the subject, here’s the actual text of the relevant section of the original Special Order 40 as printed in 1979:
ALIEN ARREST INFORMATION-NOTIFICATION.
When an undocumented alien is booked for multiple misdemeanors, a high grade misdemeanor, or a felony offense, or has been previously arrested for a similar offense, the arresting officer shall [notify the Detective Headquarters Division [DHD] of the arrest and mark “Undocumented Alien” on the arrest report].DETECTIVE HEADQUARTERS DIVISION, HEADQUARTERS SECTION-RESPONSIBILITIES. [The Division shall]
· Record the information provided in the DHD Undocumented Alien Log.
· Notify the [INS] via teletype of the arrest of the individual.
· Forward daily arrest reports marked “Undocumented Alien” to the [INS].
In practical fact, LAPD officers don’t call DHS when they make an arrest because, in most cases, they have no way of knowing a suspect’s immigration status, although—contrary to what slews of idiotic bloggers have been writing with abandon— nothing prevents them from inquiring.
Here’s the 2000 reinterpretation of Special Order 40 as written by the Rampart Independent Review Panel for the Los Angeles Police Commissioners.
The Manual does not bar an LAPD officer from notifying INS of the immigration status of a person arrested for a crime if the officer learns of that information. Further, nothing in the Manual actually bars an officer who is investigating an individual for criminal activity other than an immigration violation from asking that person about his or her immigration status and then advising INS.
Yet it is after after a suspect has been arrested, arraigned, and held in the county jail pending prosecution that his or her immigration status will be investigated by the Sheriff’s department and the INS. At least that’s the way it’s supposed to work.
In the case of Jamiel Shaw’s alleged killer, there was a Sheriff’s Department system failure with tragic results. Special Order 40 had exactly zero to do with it.
But, hey, no reason to let pesky facts get in the way of using the death of a talented young man and the terrible grief of his family as our latest immigrant bashing weapon, right? No reason at all.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson writes …
“Even if Special Order 40 were modified, there’s no guarantee that Jamiel would still be alive, but to a community convinced that Latino-on-black racial violence is on the upswing, it’s still a matter of simple justice.â€Â
Celeste then writes …….
“author Earl Ofari Hutchinson in yesterday’s LA Times op ed, to a new online column by Conor Friedersdorf in the Atlantic Monthly. All contain the message that murdered football star Jamiel Shaw would likely not have died were it not for the restrictions of Special Order 40.
Hmmmm, I wonder, Who is really part of the ….
â€Âmore than a week’s worth of politically charged emotional fiction pouring from sourcesâ€Â?
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This is why some welcome, the “screaming” and politically charged emotional “fiction” pouring from from KFI AM radio screamers John and Ken, author Earl Ofari Hutchinson and Conor Friedersdorf of the Atlantic Monthly.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-leon16apr16,1,7978071.story
Maria “Chata” Leon, an illegal immigrant whose former Glassell Park home police said was for years the center of neighborhood drug activity, was arrested by federal agents Tuesday, authorities said.
Leon, 44, was charged in federal court with illegally reentering the country, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, said Lori Haley, spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Leon, who was arrested in front of her former Drew Street home, has been convicted on felony drug, firearms and child endangerment charges in three cases dating to 1992, according to court records. She has also been deported to Mexico twice, Haley said.
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Here is Kevin James of KFI, “emotionally screaming” at the City Clowncil.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJJtg16MI_E
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Look, I think people are quite right to be furious and frustrated and want the council to do SOMETHING. They’re outraged at the inactivity and the posturing on the part of the city and county’s politicians. But we need to take smart action not feel good action. And Jamiel’s Law, while it sounds satisfying, is not an answer—for a zillion reasons I don’t have time to detail here (and no one’s going to have the patience to read). Read special order 40 as it stands and tell me why we need to change it.
Targeting Maria Leon is exactly what law enforcement ought to be doing. But nobody needed Jamiel’s Law to do it. She’s a convicted felon in this country illegally. Everyone knew where she was. Why in the world did the feds wait until now to pick her up?
Bill Bratton isn’t for Special Order 40 because he’s caving in to political pressure, it’s because gutting it will hamper his officers’ ability to do their jobs. The reason Darryl Gates (not exactly Mr. Soft On Crime) put it in place was that otherwise the immigrant community would be impossible for cops to deal with and would be reluctant (or even more reluctant) to report crimes.
PS: Earl Ofari Hutchinson started out with a much harsher column but he was asked to correct certain things by the editors because much of what he originally wrote wasn’t….what’s the term I’m looking for?…accurate or factual.
Celeste: But we need to take smart action not feel good action.
Whaaaaat?? When did you start stealing quotes from conservatives?
Targeting Maria Leon is exactly what law enforcement ought to be doing. But nobody needed Jamiel’s Law to do it. She’s a convicted felon in this country illegally. Everyone knew where she was. Why in the world did the feds wait until now to pick her up?
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It may be because Los Angeles has declared itself a sanctuary city and the Mayor and City Clouncil bitch and moan about ANY action by INS/ICE agents. You can’t expect INS/ICE to run into a city and deport anybody, when they are criticized at every turn. Why didn’t Rocky Delgadillo who tried to sell Maria Chata’s house and evict Maria from the area, call ICE/INS? Why didn’t LAPD call INS/ICE after the 1 or 2 time Maria was arrested, deported and returned to the exact same street? Everybody knows that some politicians are afraid to do anything about illegal immigrants for fear of being labeled racist, and others politicians want the illegal immigrants.
How can you expect INS/ICE to prevent people from continually returning to the city when the city does not want INS/ICE to take away ANY deterrents such as requiring employers to validate social security numbers? You can’t have it both ways, “Sanctuary City†means, come on back after you are deported you are welcome here.
Before you label Earl Hutchinson as “emotional screamerâ€Â, did you read his column after three blacks were executed by illegal alien gang members form MS-13 gang in Newark?
http://earlofarihutchinson.blogspot.com/search?q=ms-13
“There is however no truth to the claim that illegal immigrants have unleashed a crime wave in the country. There are more immigrants than ever in the U.S. and crime rates in the country have plummeted. The plunge has been most notable in the big cities with the largest illegal immigrant populations.â€Â
You make a good point about Hutchinson. He’s generally a good guy, I just didn’t find him terribly helpful on this last issue, but perhaps I shouldn’t have so easily lumped him in with the rest.
Ms. Fremon,
I’ve been telling everyone that Special Order fonie has nothing to do with deporting a felon.
Its just another tool by conservative white racist to promote another “Operation Wetback Go Home.”
A historical cycle – nothing new. General intelligent people are just tried of it all.
It’s all rather expected to hear an LAPD officer make a bunch of noises about ‘it’s not my department’, but honestly. A commentator on the subject? This is exactly the kind of mind-numbing pecksniffery that allows bureaucrats off the hook. Wrong TPS cover sheet on that protest, sorry can’t hear the voice of the people, nyah nnyah.
The fact of the matter is that there’s an interdepartmental bottleneck between arrest, conviction, incarceration and, release. Connect the dots people. The idea the SO40 doesn’t apply to Culver City or the Sheriff’s department? Those are not the borders we’re concerned about. Apparently, the 18th Street Gang is more effective at handling its business across counties and across countries than American law enforcement. To pretend that the spirit of Jamiel’s law stops at this memo or that is an insult of the first order.
What did Mr Shaw say? He said specifically why didn’t anybody at the jail check his immigration status before they let him out on the street? Any thoughtful individual would recognize that it’s not necessarily the LAPD who is running the jails. How the Shaws got attracted to SO40 is beside the point, if repeal of that law is not comprehensive enough and won’t give us satisfaction, the proper response is to show exactly what will – that is if one is capable of understanding exactly what the process is from arrest to release and which bureaucracies have which responsibilities.
Obviously this is something the average Joe doesn’t know, but the public interest is clearly served by making such information clear and available. Don’t blame bloggers or people who don’t know, blame people who do know but hide behind narrow self-interest in defiance of public safety. That unfortunately includes you Fremon.