Illegal Immigration Linked To Crime

The first prominent Hispanic to publicly speak out against illegal immigration is among the country’s leading gang experts with decades of evidence that illegal immigration is strongly associated with crime, violent gangs and drugs.

Richard Valdemar, a retired sergeant with the Lost Angeles County Sheriff’s Department who specialized in Hispanic gangs, draws from his 33-year career arresting aliens in a crime-infested portion of the Golden State that has become known as the nation’s illegal immigration capitol.

In a four-part series broadcast on an educational public affairs cable network, Valdemar, the grandson of poor Mexican migrants, says it’s his duty as a Hispanic to talk about this hot-button issue because he cannot be labeled a racist like so many others who have publicly opposed illegal immigration.

The veteran sergeant said numerous Southern California cities have already been infiltrated by Mexican drug cartels that often set up phony businesses and launder money. Not surprisingly, the cities include working class areas with large Hispanic populations such as Lynwood, Bell Gardens, South Gate and Huntington Park.

Municipalities protect the illegals, however, because American law enforcement officers are considered the villains while the migrants are portrayed as the victims. This is done through orders prohibiting officers to inquire about immigration status. Valdemar chastised an L.A. County Sheriff policy, similar to one in the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) called Special Order 40, that prevents officers from reporting illegal aliens to federal immigration authorities.

In May Judicial Watch sued the LAPD over its sanctuary policy because it violates both California and federal law. A few months later the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) intervened with a motion to allow pro immigrant groups such as Los Jornaleros and Break the Cycle to oppose Judicial Watch’s lawsuit. It is still pending in a Los Angeles court.