Thread: Victim's kin want LA police to hunt illegal immigrant gangs

Victim's kin want LA police to hunt illegal immigrant gangs
By Robert Jablon, Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 04/08/2008 03:58:35 PM PDT


LOS ANGELES -- The parents of a murdered high school football star urged passage Tuesday of a law requiring Los Angeles police to hunt down gang members who are illegal immigrants.
Such a law would alter a 30-year policy under which officers do not seek to enforce immigration laws.

"My son was murdered by someone that was not in the country legally," Jamiel Shaw told the City Council.

"We want him back but we can't get him back," Shaw said, surrounded by his family and choking back tears. "And it hurts every day."

"We're not living in Beirut or Iraq. We're living in a nice neighborhood. He thought he was safe," Shaw said.

Jamiel Shaw Jr., 17, was shot to death on March 2 as he walked home in South Los Angeles.

An alleged gang member, Pedro Espinoza, 19, has been charged with Jamiel Jr.'s murder and also is under investigation by federal immigration officials to determine whether he is an illegal immigrant.

The elder Shaw and his wife, Anita, urged the council to pass "Jamiel's Law," which has been proposed by a mayoral candidate but has not yet reached the council.

It would require police to work with federal officials "to identify, arrest, prosecute, imprison and deport illegal aliens who are, or appear to be, gang members or affiliate gang members," whether or not they had committed any other crimes.

Currently, police cannot specifically ask people they contact about their immigration status or enforce immigration laws under Special Order 40, a
1979 policy issued by former Police Chief Daryl F. Gates.
The order was designed to allow illegal immigrants to report crimes without fear of facing deportation.

However, a dozen or so speakers at the City Council meeting blamed the order for gang-related murders.

Council members did not specifically respond to the comments. City Council President Eric Garcetti said that under state law, council members cannot speak publicly about items not on the council meeting agenda.

Espinoza, suspected of being a member of the 18th Street gang, was released from a Los Angeles County jail one day before the shooting after serving time for assault with a deadly weapon, police have said.

Police said the shooting was carried out by two Hispanic gang members who pulled up in a car and asked Jamiel Jr. where he was from - a question about gang affiliation.

The teen, who did not belong to a gang, was shot before he could answer.

His father told the City Council that although his son was black and his alleged attacker was Hispanic, the issue was not one of race but of safety.

"We're not here to cause dissension between the black and the brown communities. We're trying to fix something that we think is broken," Shaw said. "But the facts are that our son was murdered on our street. Every time we come outside, we have to be reminded."

"No matter how you look at it, the guy was here illegally."

"We are not after Hispanic people," Shaw said.

Anita Shaw, an Army sergeant who was recalled from Iraq after the death of her son, said she planned to attend Espinoza's arraignment Wednesday before shipping out Thursday to Kuwait and then to Germany.

"I'm safer, somewhat, in Iraq than my son is safe on the streets of the United States. It doesn't make sense," she told the council.

http://www.dailynews.com/ci_8853220?source=rss_viewed

REMEMBER "If you love our nation, stop illegal immigration." Melanie a 13 yr old Texas victim of ILLEGALS.

There is no reason in the world this proposed law should not be adopted and implemented immediately!

This poor woman was serving in Iraq, willing to make the ultimate sacrafice for her country! And how is she repaid! She loses her wonderful son, who had everything going for him, to some low life illegal invader gang banger and the mayor shows up in front of her house to dedicate a plaque in her sons name!

If this mayor had any integrity left ( assuming he had any to begin with) and if he really gave a damn, he would implement this as law immediately! I suspect however, Vilareigosa would rather protect his illegals and preserve his ethno-centric agenda rather than protect the American Citizens who elected him into office!

The saddest part is his mother was safer in Iraq than her son was on the streets of LA and this is thanks to our scumbag politicians allowing this to happen!!!!
I hope they get this law passed cause if they don't start doing something more about it now the Police will be ran out of LA. I'm sure there are already areas of town the Police will not go.

Again and again and again, I just do not understand how our President and our congress can send our young men and women half way around the world in defense of the United States and refuse to defend our National Borders and Enforce our Immigration Laws while at the same time warning our military, for their own safety, not to wear their uniforms when traveling to "our" southern borders. Now our military can no longer leave their children at home in a "major United States city" and expect them to be safe or a least as safe as the parents in a "combat zone"!!

Again, as I commented on another article, "our" FAMILIES are at the mercy of ILLEGALS and their Anchor Babies being murdered, raped, infected with disease, or robbed. But NOT to worry the Chamber of Commerce will get their "cheap labor" increasing "their privatized" PROFITS, thanks to Bush and the Congressional Leadership!!