Officials in Sanctuary cities throughout the country, including Los Angeles, have been working diligently to thwart the work of federal immigration officers who are finally able to do their jobs under the new Trump administration. Now, amid calls from an activist member of the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners, LAPD personnel and resources are being used to conduct "Know Your Rights" seminars and provide "red cards" with those rights spelled out in English, Spanish, and other languages.
LAPD Board Commissioner Lou Calanche made those requests during the group's February 4, 2025 meeting, but RedState has learned that presentations led by Community Safety Partnership Bureau command staff and personnel were already occurring and that the red cards are in place at CSP sites around the city.
The front of the card reads:
You have constitutional rights:
- DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR if an immigration agent is knocking on the door.
- DO NOT ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS from an immigration agent if they try to talk to you. You have the right to remain silent.
- DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING without first speaking to a lawyer. You have the right to speak with a lawyer. If you are outside of your home, ask the agent if you are free to leave and if they say yes, leave calmly.
GIVE THIS CARD TO THE AGENT. If you are inside of your home, show the card through the window or slide it under the door.
The flip side reads:
I do not wish to speak with you, answer your questions, or sign or hand you any documents based on my 5th Amendment rights under the United States Constitution. I do not give you permission to enter my home based on my 4th Amendment rights under the United States Constitution unless you have a warrant to enter, signed by a judge or magistrate with my name on it that you slide under the door.
I do not give you permission to search any of my belongings based on my 4th Amendment rights.
I choose to exercise my constitutional rights.
Calanche first advocated for posting the information - which is already on the City's website - on the LAPD's website, and also on the department's Instagram site. In other words, she wants to use law enforcement resources to coach people on how to avoid/evade federal agents (emphasis mine):
"One of the recommendations [in a community meeting with Latino leaders] was to post information, the Know Your Rights information on our website ... in Spanish. And then also they brought up how many followers the LAPD HQ Instagram site has, and it would be important to post it there. They're doing a lot of outreach on their own, but they also feel hearing the same information from law enforcement adds another level of legitimacy and credibility."
But it's not just putting something on the website. Calanche continued, requesting that LAPD personnel and resources be used to hold information sessions to coach illegal immigrants on how to evade federal agents:
"I would also recommend and request that our Senior Lead Officers [SLOs] in key areas, in key divisions, to host Know Your Rights information sessions ... I would say on Zoom would be great to have these Know Your Rights sessions conducted by Senior Lead Officers in key divisions."
Even before the Palisades Fire occurred, LAPD was short-staffed by at least 1,200 officers - when Chief Jim McDonnell was appointed in October 2024 there were 8,800 officers, down from 10,000 before the COVID pandemic and fallout from the Black Lives Matter movement shrunk the department. As of January 16, 2025, 750 officers were assigned to guard areas decimated by the Palisades Fire, and the area will require a significant law enforcement presence for the foreseeable future. Knowing all of this, the use of LAPD personnel for such a purpose is ludicrous. As a representative for Defend the LAPD told the commissioners during the public comment period:
"Excuse my French, but f**k no, Lou Calanche, should SLO resources and HQ's Instagram account assist illegals evading federal law enforcement with a Know your Rights campaign. I think it's time you finally be removed from this commission. You've lost your damn mind."
Calanche and other supporters of this publicity campaign say it's needed because immigrants are living in fear, but never stop to consider the role they've played in creating that fear - a fear that's unfounded for immigrants who are here legally, and even for many illegal aliens who aren't committing additional crimes. (Or, perhaps they do, and are happily creating a problem so they can then create the "solution.")
Three LAPD employees who spoke to RedState and were granted anonymity due to fear of reprisals said that CSP officers, including Deputy Chief Bily Brockaway, have already made Know Your Rights presentations at community meetings such as the Watts Gang Task Force.
One presentation, led by CSP SLO Plascencia, is documented in this January 29 Instagram post from Sandy Morales, a community member:
Morales wrote:
We had a great presentation by LAPD CSP [Community Safety Partnership] Officer Plascencia. She gave great information for everyone to know. This is specific to the Los Angeles Police Dept. Check with your local PD’s if you live outside Los Angeles.
Please save, send and share.
I will post it in Spanish as well.
The same evening, Commander Hurtado and other LAPD personnel gave a similar presentation to an invite-only group that included the Mexican Consulate General and Police Commissioner Calanche.
This Instagram post from the Hispanic American Police Command Officers Association-Los Angeles describes the meeting:
"Tonight, LAPD engaged with local community members to discuss Special Order 40. The conversation was led by HAPCOA member, Commander Hurtado, who is the Department’s Latino liaison along with representatives from the Mayor’s Office, the Mexican Consulate General, and Police Commissioner Calanche.
"Special Order 40 highlights the LAPD’s commitment to constitutional policing and the protection of all residents, regardless of immigration status. We believe that community safety is best achieved through strong partnerships and open dialogue."
This meeting was allegedly to discuss the department's "commitment to constitutional policing and the protection of all residents, regardless of immigration status," but it's the same meeting Calanche referenced the next week saying that the group - which, again, included the Mexican Consulate General - made recommendations to have officers in the community conducting Know Your Rights seminars. So, now we have local law enforcement command staff working with representatives of a foreign government to help illegal aliens (many of whom are citizens of that foreign government) evade federal law enforcement? That's certainly what it looks like.
Commander Hurtado and other LAPD brass are describing their seminars as Special Order 40 seminars, but Special Order 40 has nothing to do with protecting illegal aliens, especially illegal aliens who've committed other crimes, from the consequences of their actions. That order, issued by former Chief Darryl Gates in 1979, simply stated that LAPD officers would not initiate an encounter with a person for the sole reason of immigration enforcement and provided a mechanism for informing federal agents of an illegal alien's criminal arrest. So there's no misunderstanding, here is the procedure detailed in Special Order 40:
I. ENFORCEMENT OF UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION LAWS.
- Officers shall not initiate police action with the objective of discovering the alien status of a person.
- Officers shall not arrest nor book persons for violation of Title 8, Section 1325 of the United States Immigration Code (Illegal Entry).
II. ALIEN ARREST INFORMATION—NOTIFICATION. When an undocumented alien is booked for multiple misdemeanor offenses, a high grade misdemeanor or a felony offense, or has been previously arrested for a similar offense, the arresting officer shall:
- Telephonically notify the Headquarters Section Desk Officer, Detective Headquarters Division, of the arrest, the arrestee's name, booking number, charge, and location booked.
- Mark the arrest face sheet "Undocumented Alien."
III. DETECTIVE HEADQUARTERS DIVISION, HEADQUARTERS SECTION—RESPONSIBILITIES. The Headquarters Section Desk Officer, Detective Headquarters Division, upon notification that an undocumented alien has been arrested for multiple misdemeanor offenses, a high grade misdemeanor or a felony offense, or has been arrested for the same offense a second time, shall:
- Record the information provided in the DHD Undocumented Alien Log.
- Notify the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service via teletype of the arrest of the individual.
- Forward daily all Arrest Reports marked "Undocumented Alien" to the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service.
In 2008, when officials were considering amending Special Order 40, Gates reiterated that the policy was never intended to keep law enforcement from doing its job:
“Built into [the] special order is a part that, if somebody violates the law and the officer brings them in, the first thing they’re supposed to do is notify immigration if they believe they’re undocumented. That’s in Special Order 40. But somewhere it was lost. Never, ever, ever was Special Order 40 designed, written to keep law enforcement from enforcing the law against a criminal.”
Special Order 40 is completely different from this "red card" Know Your Rights campaign and scarce law enforcement resources shouldn't be used in this manner, especially since every advocacy group in the area is handing out these cards. LAPD doesn't use its resources to coach drunk drivers on their rights and doesn't hold seminars on finding loopholes so defendants can fight probable cause or have a confession thrown out; using taxpayer dollars for this purpose is just as asinine.
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