AMAC Exclusive – By Andrew Abbott
Fresh off surviving the latest recall effort against him, radical Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon is upping the ante once again on his pro-criminal, anti-law-and-order agenda. In a new “special directive” released last month, Gascon orders his prosecutors not to seek charges against illegal immigrants involved in criminal activity, and instead direct them to “diversion programs” in the hopes of preventing them from being deported.
The results of this policy have, predictably, been disastrous for America’s second largest city.
Throughout the nine-page memo released in December, Gascon institutes a series of policies directing prosecutors under him to consider a person’s immigration status when deciding how to charge them. The document specifically states, “All charging determinations shall be undertaken with the goal of avoiding or mitigating the adverse immigration consequences of a decision.”
In other words, prosecutorial decisions on criminal illegal aliens must now be made with the intent of preventing them from being deported. In practice, this means that Gascon’s office will do everything within its power to avoid pressing criminal charges against illegal aliens who commit crimes, since doing so could place those criminals on the radar of federal immigration authorities.
Gascon goes on to mandate that prosecutors should handle plea bargains in a manner that will keep illegal immigrants out of prison, free from deportation, and without any criminal record. One of the strategies Gascon suggests to circumvent making criminals plead guilty is to enter an “alternative plea agreement” in order to “minimize the defendant’s exposure to adverse immigration consequences.” Another tactic is to “allow flexibility in sentencing…to preserve access to immigration relief.”
Instead of jail time, the memo instructs prosecutors to look for opportunities to funnel criminal illegal aliens to “diversion programs,” many of which were created by Gascon himself to help offenders avoid prison. Instead of taking violent criminals off the streets, diversion programs purport to address the “underlying causes” of criminal behavior while allowing perpetrators to walk free – much to the horror of past and potentially future victims.
Gascon has also ordered the alteration of all convictions so that any prison time served will not affect a criminal’s ability to circumvent established immigration law. One of the most alarming tactics Gascon outlines is “permitting a stipulation factual basis exists rather than requiring the defendant to plead to a specific conduct.”
In effect, this means that if an illegal immigrant is arrested for a crime like armed robbery, prosecutors can alter his agreement so that he doesn’t have to plead guilty or innocent to the crime. As a result, the perpetrator faces minimal, if any, jail time.
Gascon also includes a provision allowing illegal aliens to retroactively have their previous convictions vacated. According to the memo, if a criminal illegal alien is no longer in custody, they may file a motion to vacate their conviction if they were not made explicitly aware of “potential adverse immigration consequences.” If an illegal alien does so, Gascon orders that “the prosecutor respond swiftly and concede the motion.”
In other words, if an illegal immigrant commits a crime and then comes to someone in Gascon’s office claiming that the conviction could result in their deportation, the LA prosecutor’s office must vacate the conviction – washing the slate clean for someone already in the U.S. illegally who then committed a crime.
Gascon concludes his memo by reaffirming that all city prosecutors are “prohibited from sharing information on illegal immigrants with any federal immigration authorities.”
Notably, Gascon sets no limit on what crimes the new policies cover. This means that even violent felonies like murder and rape are now subject to be wiped away if Gascon’s office determines that punishing the offender may result in his or her deportation.
Even more outrageously, by factoring in immigration status before filing criminal charges, illegal immigrants will now receive preferential treatment to legal citizens. Two individuals committing the same crime in LA may now, by rule, face different treatment based on their immigration status. And it’s the illegal alien who receives the preference.
Gascon has likely been emboldened by his ability to successfully overcome multiple efforts to recall him from office. In deep-blue LA, it will be a monumental challenge to unseat anyone backed by a top Democrat donor such as George Soros. But with Gascon now actively working to make the city even more of a haven for illegal alien criminals, the day may soon come where voters have finally had enough.
Andrew Abbott is the pen name of a writer and public affairs consultant with over a decade of experience in DC at the intersection of politics and culture.
