Bright Line Between Police and Immigration Required for Community Trust in Law Enforcement

San Francisco - Assemblymember Tom Ammiano issued the following statement in response to the scandal at the Los Angeles Miramonte school where parents of children abused at the school fear speaking out due to perceived threat of deportation. According to the Associated Press, “Parents of Miramonte school students . . . told AP that they aren’t talking to authorities because they are afraid that the Sheriff’s Department, which is in charge of the investigation, will refer them to immigration through the Secure Communities program.”

"What is happening at Miramonte represents the tragedy of S-Comm that we have been talking about since the program started. Here you have immigrant families whose children have suffered the worst possible abuse and they are scared to come forward to speak,” said Ammiano. “What does it say about our society if parents won’t speak to the police when their children are in danger? Enough is enough. We need to end the charade called S-Comm and restore trust in our communities. Every parent regardless of immigration status deserves access to the police and to know that their children are being protected. The TRUST Act will ensure that our government protects its residents not criminalizes them when they have already suffered.”

“The Miramonte School sex scandal raises the profile of an additional obstacle: Secure Communities. The fact that it is the Sheriff Department that patrols this unincorporated area of Los Angeles should not be overlooked. It is disingenuous to one day place an ice cream vendor and a victim of domestic violence in deportation proceedings and the next say the community should not be afraid of the Sheriff Department. The repercussions of enthusiastically supporting a venomous trap such as Secure Communities, is real is Los Angeles. Should legislative protections been in place today, these parents would have come forth to tell their story about this despicable act against their children,” said Angelica Salas, executive director, CHIRLA.

The TRUST Act was named one of the top progressive bills of 2011 and passed the California Assembly last year. An undemocratic attempt by ICE at making the Secure Communities deportation program mandatory in the state required the sponsors to redraft the bill to continue to protect California residents. The bill will be reintroduced this month.

Contact: Quintin Mecke, Office: 415-557-3013; Cell: 415.505.2417