February 23, 2017

Susan M. Curda

District Director

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
300 N. Los Angeles Street

Los Angeles, CA 90012

Dear Ms. Curda:

According to a Los Angeles Times report, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents operating in
Los Angeles have identi?ed themselves as ?police? of?cers in the course of immigration investigations and
enforcement. The purpose of this letter is to urge in the strongest possible terms that ICE immediately cease
this practice in our city.

For forty years, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles City Attorney's of?ce have worked to
gain the trust, respect and cooperation of all our city's residents. This hard-won con?dence makes all of Los
Angeles safer, encouraging witnesses and victims of crime to come forward irrespective of their immigration
status. Indeed, the LAPD manual states that participation by undocumented residents in police activities
serves to "increase the Department's ability to protect and serve the entire community." The same holds true
for interactions between undocumented residents and the City Attorney's prosecutors.

As a reSult, when ICE agents targeting immigrants identify themselves only as "police" of?cers, they
undermine decades of this work, eroding public safety in our city. In Los Angeles, the term "police" is
synonymous with the Los Angeles Police Department, so for ICE agents to represent themselves as police
misleads the public into believing they are interacting with LAPD. This is especially corrosive given that to
advance public safety, LAPD does not initiate police action with the objective of determining a person?s
immigration status.

In sum, decades of experience by LAPD and City Attorney prosecutors demonstrate the city we serve will be

less safe if any member of our large and diverse immigrant population is driven underground, dissuaded from
providing valuable information and cooperation because they fear contact with our own police force.

Especially in these turbulent and uncertain times, we urge that ICE agents Operating in Los Angeles
immediately stop representing they are ?police? of?cers.

Thank you.

Sincerely.

Eric Garcetti Mike Feuer Herb J. Wesscm
Mayor City Attorney President, Los Angeles City Council

Cc: John F. Kelly, Secretary, .Department of Homeland Security