My Speech To The Sheriff’s Civilian Oversight Commission

I was invited to speak to the Sheriff’s Civilian Oversight Commission this week in favor of the new Los Angeles Sheriff cooperating with I.C.E. The following is my speech.

I represent the American Freedom Alliance. We are concerned with the threats to Western Civilization, among them unchecked illegal immigration and the erosion of the Rule of Law. Because we believe the Rule of Law I am here to speak in support ICE.

Today I’m not going to discuss the pros and cons of illegal immigration, that isn’t what our support of ICE is about. It isn’t about ICE rounding up your nanny or neighbor. It’s about illegal alien criminals. CRIMINALS.

In spite of what others have said, it is not true that all law enforcement is against ICE. A few months ago Ventura Sheriff Geoff Dean spoke at the Thousand Oaks City Council meeting and explained what SB54 did and didn’t do. He had written an op-ed in the Ventura newspaper saying SB54 was NOT in the best interest of public safety. He said the Association of California Sheriffs did not support SB54. Sheriff Dean said SB54 puts him in an impossible situation. If he obeys California Law, he violates his oath to uphold the Constitution and if he obeys his oath to the Constitution he violates California Law.

Sheriff Dean said there are NO low level criminals in our jails, he said they don’t jail low level criminals. California has reduced hundreds of felonies to misdemeanors. He said criminals who have committed serious crimes are being released into our communities instead of over to ICE.

I’m sure those here in support of NOT cooperating with ICE have good intentions. They want to protect their children’s best friends family, or their housekeeper from being picked up. But if ICE can’t pick up criminals from jails, they have to go into the community to find them and your sweet nanny or neighbor may get swept up too. I may not agree, but I do understand people wanting to protect their nanny or neighbor, but I don’t understand protecting criminals.

Jamiel Shaw Sr. Invited me to his home on the fifth anniversary of his son’s death. I’ve seen the plaque in front of his next door neighbors house where his son, Jamiel Shaw Jr., was gunned down for no reason by an illegal alien gang member who had just been released from jail instead of being tuned over to ICE. How did not cooperating with ICE make the Shaw’s lives
safer. What reason is there for any illegal alien criminal to be released into our communities? Don’t we have enough of our own?

We’re told SB54 protects illegal alien victims who otherwise would be afraid of cooperating with the police. However, releasing the criminals…….the victims helped convict…….back into their community then puts them at risk of retaliation. How does that protect them? Or any of us?

It’s the FIRST job of government to PROTECT US. We expect law enforcement agencies to cooperate with each other. Don’t agencies share DNA & fingerprint data? Don’t other agencies hold criminals for extradition to other states? Don’t the police and Sheriffs
cooperate with the FBI? Why would they NOT cooperate with another law enforcement agency?

We just had another example of how dangerous this is with the death of Deputy Ronhil Singh, a legal immigrant. Sheriff Adam Christianson said, through tears, that California’s sanctuary laws were to blame for his death. Of course they are. I don’t understand the justification of refusing to turn an illegal alien criminal over to ICE.

Didn’t Sheriff Villanueva take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution and uphold our laws? Isn’t it the job of the Sheriff to protect American citizens?
Why, on earth, would anyone want to keep, as Sheriff Dean said, “serious criminals” in this country? How does this benefit us?

We are told illegals have been here for decades so we shouldn’t enforce our immigration laws. Would this apply to Rapists, murders, bank robbers if they get away with their crimes for decades?

We would like the Sheriff to explain why illegal alien criminals are exempt from our immigration laws. If we used stolen or fraudulent identification, committed tax fraud, employment fraud, voter fraud, etc. We’d be in serious trouble. We don’t see illegal aliens held to the same standard. We are offended by a Sheriff, sworn to protect us, saying he’d bodily remove ICE…..who are fellow law enforcement officers……from his jail.

We have respected the Rule of Law all our lives. We have respected and supported law enforcement. We find it impossible to believe it is necessary for us to come here and ask law enforcement agencies to cooperate with each other to PROTECT US. It is still against the law to enter this country illegally. We are asking the Sheriff to cooperate with ICE to keep us safe.