Ok is it legal for police to say we will not enforce US laws pertaining to illegals?

[amdt57]

As some states like Utah look to put cops on the front lines of immigration enforcement, San Jose Police Chief Chris Moore and other prominent law enforcement officials warned Wednesday that using their shrinking pool of officers to target illegal immigrants is inefficient, costly and would make their cities more dangerous, not less.

"I am looking at laying off 300 officers, so now more than ever I need to focus on partnerships with communities,'' Moore said during a national teleconference sponsored by the Police Executive Research Forum. "This (the issue of immigration enforcement) has become a wedge in our communities and we need to remove that wedge.''

The teleconference was part of a larger public effort by some high-profile police executives to communicate to political leaders and people that the increasing calls for more aggressive and local immigration enforcement efforts could adversely affect them.

The officials noted, in particular, immigration crackdowns in Arizona and Utah and other proposals that seek to have local law enforcement enforce immigration laws, primarily a federal function. Looking to reassure its own large and growing Latino community, San Jose has long broadcast that it does not participate in immigration raids. And officers are ordered not to investigate someone's immigration status during arrests.

San Jose police are looking to greatly improve its frayed relationship with immigrant communities amid allegations of overaggressive policing and racial profiling. Moore, for example, has in his short tenure as chief discontinued a policy in which cars of unlicensed drivers stopped for minor traffic violations were impounded for a month -- a policy many felt unfairly targeted the undocumented Latino community.

"I was very, very concerned of people being afraid of us,'' said Moore, who has put great stock in community cooperation as a major factor in the city's comparative safetyhttp://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_17628939?nclick_check=1


If they don’t want to enforce the law they should be fired.

They enforce federal laws all the time.

[clem84]

I hate that idiot police chief of San Jose. Because of his dumbass, they're now not even impounding cars of illegal aliens driving in LA starting yesterday. They are free to go, but US citizens will still get their cars impounded, can you wrap your head around that?

I'm planning to abandon CA soon, it's turning into a complete garbage state. If you live there, I suggest you make plans to leave too for your sanity. Illegals already outnumber us everywhere not a few blocks from the ocean. As soon as they have no one's lawn left to mow, they will starve and hopefully CA will break off into the ocean lol.

[webb]

No, they are hired to protect citizens and if they allow illegals to roam the streets, we are not safe.

[atworth49]

No. They can do whatever they want, they're the white gang. You don't like it? Get in line for a good ol' American beatin'.

[plys]

It's not illegal to say things, with some notable exceptions spelled out in the first amendment.

[adamka]

If they have limited resources, they have to decide where to put those limited resources. They are not violating the law, just saying that some will not be vigorously enforced. Many states feel the same way about marijuana and that is also against federal law.

[gerard]

Well, you've answered your own question, but I'll try and answer it anyway. I have a different take on it than you do.
Police have a certain discretion in law enforcement. For example if you are driving at 58 miles per hour in a 55 mph zone, a policeman is free to decide to let you go by without stopping you. Specially if he's busy watching for some more serious offences, like drunk drivers, racers, etc. So the policeman is making a choice in what to emphasize with his time.
In the case you describe, the police chief feels he doesn't have the manpower to deal with illegal immigrants, when there are so many more serious crimes to deal with. So he makes a choice, like a good law officer should.
Personally, I think immigration law enforcement should be a federal matter, but that's just me.