Shame on LAPD Chief Moore and Mayor Garcetti for hampering ICE

To the editor: Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore, who has emphasized the fact that the LAPD does not assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, clearly does not read the L.A. Times.

He must have missed the recent arrests of the 22 MS-13 gang members, 19 of whom were alleged by authorities to have recently entered this country illegally.

Moore said, “We are not an extension of ICE. ... I do worry about the intimidation it can create.� Maybe the chief thinks people who dismember and murder people are not intimidating.

We all understand that the large majority of undocumented persons are not these types of horrific criminals, but to effectively obstruct duly authorized federal law enforcement officials in the carrying out of their duties is just more evidence of official malfeasance and political pandering.

Members of MS-13 should never have been in this country, and once they are deported they should never be allowed to return. This is what ICE does. Sanctuary cities like Los Angeles will continue to pay a heavy price because of officials like Moore and Garcetti.

Jim Flavin, Los Angeles

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To the editor: An L.A. Times editorial states that 1,480 U.S. citizens have been detained by the Border Patrol since 2012 and that “if these were one-off errors, they would be regrettable.�

One needs to put this number in context. According to the Border Patrol, it has apprehended more than 2.7 million people since 2012. The number of U.S. citizens apprehended during this time represents .05% of the total.

This is a very small number, and while it is regrettable for any citizen to be detained, the percentage is hardly worth the “uproar� that the L.A. Times Editorial Board expects from conservatives.

Penny Wood, Vista, Calif.