San Luis Obispo County DA Advises Compliance With ICE
Jarrod Zinn
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (KEYT) – San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow has responded to calls from communities across the nation for “ICE-Free Zones”.
For example, Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath is spearheading ordinances to restrict ICE from using property controlled by local agencies.
“We know that there’s, you know, ongoing activity we had right outside my district office in Van Nuys, a raid right outside our office, which communicated to people they didn’t care how close they were to a county government building,” says Los Angeles county supervisor Lindsey Horvath.
San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow says the establishment of so-called “ICE free zones” is merely symbolic rhetoric, and that state, county, and local law enforcement does not override federal law.
“It’s factually impossible for a state or a local government to supersede federal authority,” says Dan Dow, District Attorney For SLO County. “Don’t ever cross the line and violate the law, because that could get you potentially arrested and prosecuted by the federal government. Or if you violate a California law while you’re doing that, you could be prosecuted locally.”
Dow acknowledges confusion people may have about how U.S. Immigration Law works.
He says politicians have allowed illegal immigration to happen for decades.
“I want to make sure that our community knows, from my perspective as the D.A., what is lawful, what is not lawful, what is protected under the Constitution, what is not,” says D.A. Dow. “Because we all want to live in a safe community where we’re free from crime. Whether that be, you know, from folks that are citizens or non-citizens and also, from crimes that may come as a result of, protest activity.”
The District Attorney does specify that the Constitution protects free speech, the airing of grievances, and peaceable assembly.
“And so what we want people to know is we’re going to do all that we can to keep them safe,” says L.A. County supervisor Horvath.
Dow says people should comply with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, and to give them the space to do their jobs.
“Many leaders around our country have implied to their followers that you should go out and engage these law enforcement officers,” says Dow. “We hear the word ‘resist,’ and that’s dangerous rhetoric for anybody to encourage someone to do. Because if you’re resisting a law enforcement officer, that is per se a crime, as long as they’re performing their duties.”
Dow has received criticism for his social media comments supporting ice’s actions in Minneapolis, but chose not to comment further.
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