"Los Angeles County says federal agents conducting immigration raids cannot cover their faces with masks in order to conceal their identities and must identify themselves during a raid or face criminal charges, according to an ordinance adopted by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Dec. 2. The ordinance applies to all law enforcement officers local, state and federal who operate in unincorporated areas of the county, potentially affecting a total of about 1 million people."
"Between June 6 and Aug. 26, about 5,000 people in L.A. County who are purportedly undocumented have been arrested by federal agents who hide their faces, ride up in unmarked cars and drag people into custody at gunpoint. They do not wear uniforms and often do not identify themselves when confronted. Thousands are taken to detention facilities. Some have been transported to other countries, including a detention center in El Salvador and are unable to call family members to say where they were taken."
"This is how authoritarian secret police behaves not legitimate law enforcement in a democracy, said Fourth District Supervisor Janice Hahn, a co-author of the ordinance. ICE agents are violating our residents' rights every day they are on our streets. These agents hide their faces. They refuse to wear badges. They pull people into unmarked vans at gunpoint and wonder why people resist arrest."
Los Angeles County approved an ordinance requiring all law enforcement officers operating in unincorporated areas to reveal identities and forbidding masks that conceal identity, potentially covering about 1 million residents. The Board voted 4-0 with one abstention and scheduled a required second vote on Dec. 9; the measure would take effect in early January if approved. County supervisors cited thousands of recent arrests by federal agents who allegedly hide faces, use unmarked vehicles, and detain people at gunpoint, with some detainees moved to distant facilities and unable to notify family. The ordinance aims to increase transparency and accountability in local policing.
#immigration-enforcement #law-enforcement-transparency #civil-liberties #los-angeles-county-ordinance
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