On Tuesday Mayor Eric Garcetti expanded Special Order 40, the LAPD's ban on stopping people suspected of living in the country illegally, to now apply to the Fire Department, Airport Police and Port Police. How has Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) responded? We also cover the Sierra snowpack overload and concerns of flooding; and more.
Mayor Garcetti, former ICE agent weigh in on Special Order 40, LAPD Chief’s comments on drop in crime reporting among Latinos
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti signed an executive order expanding the LAPD's ban on stopping people suspected of being in the country illegally.
What's called Special Order 40 now applies to the Fire Department, Airport Police and Port Police. The mayor announced the action yesterday, at the same time LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said fewer Latino Angelenos are reporting domestic violence and sexual assault. Sex assault reports are down 25-percent year-to-date. Domestic violence claims down ten-percent. The chief said fears of deportation are discouraging those reports.
Meanwhile, immigration enforcement advocates are chiming in following Chief Beck’s comments. In a statement, Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Virginia Kice told KPCC’s AirTalk that law enforcement’s suggestions that immigration enforcement is contributing to the decline in crime reporting was “entirely speculative and irresponsible.”
Today on AirTalk, a former ICE special agent in charge for Los Angeles responds to those claims.
Statement from ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice:
"Los Angeles law enforcement officials’ suggestion that expanded immigration enforcement has contributed to a recent decline in the reporting of certain types of crimes is entirely speculative and irresponsible.
On the contrary, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recognizes the imperative for crime victims and witnesses to come forward. The agency works closely with state and local law enforcement to see that foreign nationals who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking crimes are informed about the availability of special visas to enable them to remain in the U.S. Additionally, the fact that someone is the immediate victim or witness to a significant crime is a factor ICE prominently considers when weighing how to proceed in a particular case.
ICE’s enforcement actions are targeted and lead driven, prioritizing individuals who pose a risk to our communities. The agency’s officers conduct themselves in accordance with their authorities under federal law and the Constitution.
The inference by Los Angeles officials that the agency’s execution of its mission is undermining public safety is outrageous and wrongheaded. In fact, the greater threat to public safety is local law enforcement’s continuing unwillingness to honor immigration detainers. Rather than transferring convicted criminal aliens to ICE custody as requested, agencies, including the Los Angeles Police Department, are routinely releasing these offenders back onto the street to potentially reoffend, and their victims are often other members of the immigrant community.
ICE looks forward to working with Los Angeles and other jurisdictions across the country in the coming weeks and months on this important issue."
Guests:
Eric Garcetti, mayor of the City of Los Angeles
Claude Arnold, retired special agent in charge for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations in the greater Los Angeles area
Explaining the TSA's laptop ban for travelers from several Middle Eastern and African countries
The Department of Homeland security has new requirements for passengers on some airlines from several Middle Eastern and African countries.
Anything bigger than a cell phone must be packed away in a checked bag and will not be allowed on the flight.
This new rule was confirmed Tuesday morning by the Trump administration and has since been followed by similar rules for travelers from those countries going to the United Kingdom. It's already drawn outcry for unfair discrimination, but some believe that there is likely precedence for this sort of rule from the TSA.
Guest:
Alex Davies, transportation reporter for WIRED
What we know so far about the attack in London, on the one year anniversary of Brussels
LONDON (AP) - A vehicle mowed down pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge, killing at least one woman and leaving others with injuries described as catastrophic.
Around the same time Wednesday, a knife-wielding attacker stabbed a police officer and was shot on the grounds outside Britain's Parliament, sending the compound into lockdown.
Guest:
Hal Kempfer, retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel and CEO of KIPP knowledge and intelligence program professionals; he does counter terrorism training with government entities around California
Sierra snowpack overload: As Garcetti declares local state of emergency, LADWP preps for Owens Valley flooding
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti this week declared a state of emergency for areas near the L.A. Aqueduct.
The declaration calls for protection of areas at risk of flooding due to this year’s Eastern Sierra snowpack, which is 241 percent above normal, about two times what Angelenos use in a year. The primary land at risk? Owens Valley, where the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) expects up to 1 million acres of runoff. Homes and hydroelectric power plants are at risk with the runoff, as well as dust mitigation infrastructure on Owens Lake, which the LADWP has invested more than $1 billion since 2000. Garcetti has also taken this as an opportunity to address climate change issues, and said he’s committed to making the city more sustainable.
So how is the LADWP planning to deal with this? And would L.A. be liable for any damages to Owens Valley?
Guests:
Eric Garcetti, mayor of Los Angeles
Richard Harasick, senior assistant general manager of the Water System for Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Mike Prather, Owens Lake advocate for the Eastern Sierra Audubon, a nonprofit wildlife conservation organization; chair of the Inyo County Water Commission
Ride into the Sun: The science and cultural history of eclipses
Scientists and people living in North America are abuzz over the total solar eclipse that’s expected to take place on August 21 this year. It’s the first total sun eclipse to happen in continental US since 1979.
A total solar eclipse happens once every couple of years, but the phenomenon still draws big crowds and curious onlookers. In the new book, “Mask of the Sun,” writer John Dvorak look at the significance different cultures and people have assigned to both solar and lunar eclipses. Ancient Romans thought that people shouldn’t have sex during an eclipse, and even today, some pregnant women in Mexico wear safety pins on their underwear during one.
John Dvorak will be talking about his new book, "Mask of the Sun" today, March 22, at 1pm at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena
Guest:
John Dvorak, a tech writer and author of numerous books, including his latest, “Mask of the Sun: The Science, History and Forgotten Lore of Eclipses” (Pegasus Books, 2017)