The Trump administration’s efforts to enforce immigration law and deport illegal aliens have resulted in a disturbing new trend – activist-minded police chiefs who seem more concerned with protecting foreign drug dealers and gang members than law-abiding citizens.
In deep blue enclaves throughout the country, left-wing police chiefs are now actively thwarting immigration enforcement efforts and even threatening to criminally charge federal agents for doing their job. This alarming development is just the latest example of the left’s war on the criminal justice system and law and order itself.
Several police chiefs have gone viral in just the past few weeks for their very public – and often childish – response to immigration enforcement. On January 9, Portland, Oregon, Police Chief Bob Day began crying while discussing two criminal illegal aliens who were shot by federal law enforcement during a deportation operation the night before.
The two individuals were shot after one of them, Luis David Nino-Moncada, tried to hit Border Patrol agents with his car during a traffic stop. The shooting happened just one day after Renee Good, a left-wing anti-ICE activist, tried to hit federal officers in Minneapolis and was subsequently shot.
“Nino-Moncada is a criminal illegal alien from Venezuela and suspected Tren de Aragua gang member,” the Department of Homeland Security announced. Law enforcement also shot Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras, who “is a criminal illegal alien from Venezuela and is associated with the Tren de Aragua gang.” She is accused of being part of a prostitution ring run by the gang and was involved in a similar shooting in July.
The two fled the scene in their car, only to be apprehended later.
In a shocking dereliction of duty, Day’s concern was not for the brave law enforcement who were risking their lives to keep Portland’s streets safe, but rather for the illegal aliens and the “Latino community.”
After giving a straight-faced update on related law enforcement operations regarding Tren de Aragua, Day said he “hesitated” to even discuss the ongoing criminal activity because it might stigmatize Latinos (the vast majority of whom are law-abiding and fully support efforts to identify and arrest criminal gang members).
“I hesitated to even share this information initially because I am very aware of the very historic injustice of victim blaming oftentimes portrayed by law enforcement,” Day said, casting blame on his own officers.
Choking back tears, Day went on to “speak for just a moment specifically to my Latino community,” saying “it saddens, it saddens me that we even have to qualify these remarks. Because I understand, or at least have attempted to understand through your voices, your concern, your fear, your anger.”
Now fully sobbing, Day said the information about the criminal ties of the illegal immigrants “in no way is meant to disparage or to condone or support or agree with any of the actions that occurred yesterday.”
All in all, the blubbering display was something you’d expect from a sociology professor at Portland State University rather than the top cop of the state’s largest city.
Day “expressed no relief that ordinary Americans no longer risked (unless they recover and a leftist judge releases them) being victimized at the hands of the two violent criminals who were shot,” Robert Spencer wrote in FrontPage Magazine. “Instead, Day’s sympathies were entirely with the gang members.”
Spencer suggested that Day’s real tears were because two potential Democrat voters were shot and may not be able to vote in future elections. “Democrats look out at every Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) operation and see their voter base steadily shrinking,” Spencer wrote. “No wonder they’re moved to tears.”
Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles called on the police chief to resign over his comments. “You need to resign,” Knowles said, arguing that his “judgment is severely impaired.”
Unfortunately for the safety of American citizens, Day is not the only top law enforcement official who loses sleep at night over the plight of criminal illegal aliens.
Philadelphia Sheriff Rochelle Bilal also recently called brave ICE officers “fake law enforcement” and threatened to arrest them for enforcing the law. Bilal accused ICE of being part of “Trump’s new army to attack citizens of the United States” and said that Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner would “lock them up.” (Notably, Soros-funded prosecutor Krasner often refuses to prosecute drug- and gun-related crimes, as AMAC Newsline previously reported.)
It’s one thing (though still detestable) to hear Democrat politicians like Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker launch attacks on ICE agents to curry favor with their far-left base and make a name for themselves. But it is incredibly dangerous when police leaders, who take an oath to faithfully defend the laws of the country, side with criminals over the rule of law.
When law enforcement becomes politicized and police chiefs become partisan actors, public safety suffers, and law-abiding citizens pay the price.
AMAC Newsline contributor Matt Lamb is an associate editor for The College Fix. He previously worked for Students for Life of America, Students for Life Action, and Turning Point USA. He previously interned for Open the Books. His writing has also appeared in the Washington Examiner, The Federalist, LifeSiteNews, Human Life Review, Headline USA, and other outlets. The opinions expressed are his own. Follow him @mattlamb22 on X.
