Lou Dobbs reported this in an interview with Judicial Watch.
Now I have a better understanding of how and why 500,000 illeagal aliens and their supporters were marching in LA on May1.

http://www.judicialwatch.org/5761.shtml

Judicial Watch Sues Los Angeles Police Department Over Dangerous & Unlawful Immigration Policy

“Special Order 40” Violates Federal Immigration Laws, California State Laws and Puts the American People at Risk

(Los Angeles, CA) – Judicial Watch, the public interest group that fights government corruption and judicial abuse, announced today that it has filed a taxpayer lawsuit against the Los Angeles Police Department over “Special Order 40,” a policy that prohibits police officers from inquiring about an individual’s immigration status, and reportedly restricts police officers from cooperating with federal immigration officials. Judicial Watch is asking the court to prohibit the LAPD from expending taxpayer funds to enforce and maintain Special Order 40, which violates both federal immigration laws and California law and puts American citizens at risk. The lawsuit, Harold P. Sturgeon v. Bratton, et al. (BC 351646), was filed on May 1st in the Superior Court for the State of California, County of Los Angeles.

Special Order 40, initiated in 1979 by former Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates, reads, in part, “Officers shall not initiate police action with the objective of discovering the alien status of a person. Officers shall not arrest nor book persons for violation of Title 8, Section 1325 of the United States Immigration Code (Illegal Entry).” According to a Board of Police Commissioners’ report in February 2001, in practice, the policies and procedures also “preclude officers from…notifying the [federal immigration officials] about a person’s undocumented status unless the person has been arrested.”

“Special Order 40 and the policies, procedures, and practices arising thereunder…are unlawful and void, and the LAPD must be prohibited from expending any further taxpayer funds…to enforce, maintain, or otherwise carry out in any manner the provisions of Special Order 40,” Judicial Watch argues in its complaint.

In 1996, Congress enacted legislation which states, “…a Federal State, or local government entity or official may not prohibit, or in any way restrict, any government entity or official from sending to, or receiving from, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (now Immigration and Customs Enforcement) information regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual.”

California law also mandates that Los Angeles Police officers enforce immigration laws and work with federal immigration officials. “Every law enforcement agency in California shall fully cooperate with the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (now Immigration and Customs Enforcement) regarding any person who is arrested if he or she is suspected of being present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws.”

In addition to violating the law, Special Order 40 also puts American citizens at risk by releasing criminal illegal aliens onto the streets.

In its complaint, Judicial Watch references a New York Times article published in late 2004 about an illegal immigrant who went on a rampage in Hollywood, mugging three people, burglarizing two apartments and attempting to rape a woman in front of her five-year old daughter. The illegal alien had been deported four years prior for robbery, drugs and burglary, but had made his way back into the United States. “Although he had been stopped twice for traffic violations,” the Times reported, “the police were prohibited from reporting him to immigration authorities.”

“Special Order 40 is illegal and dangerous. It constrains police officers from enforcing the law and places everyone at risk from criminal illegal aliens,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

View a copy of Judicial Watch’s complaint and
the original text of Special Order 40 on their website.