Council Member Dennis Zine’s motion is a counterfeit Jamiel’s Law.  And it’s not even a good counterfeit, at that.  It’s the public policy equivalent of a three-dollar bill.  Here’s why:

1. 1.  Jamiel’s Law would REQUIRE action.  Zine’s motion would merely REQUEST action.
   

2. Jamiel’s Law, if enacted, would be an actual law:  it would  require the Mayor and Police Chief immediately to develop and implement a plan for the LAPD, in cooperation with ICE and the U.S. Attorney, to identify, arrest, prosecute and deport gang members who are illegal aliens.
   

3. 
   

4. Jamiel’s Law would require the Mayor and Police Chief to start using immigration law to deport gang members before they commit new crimes (i.e., crimes in addition to the crime of entering the country illegally). 
   

5. 
   

6. Jamiel’s Law would also require the Mayor to provide the public with quarterly written reports describing their efforts to comply, including the number of people arrested for violating immigration laws.
   

7. 
   

8. Jamiel’s Law, in short, would immediately terminate “sanctuary city” protection for gang members. 
   

9. 
   

10. By contrast, Zine’s motion does not require any change whatsoever.  None.  Zine’s motion is not a law at all.  Zine’s motion is merely a “request.”  It calls for the City Council to “request the Chief of Police and the Board of Police Commissioners to modify Special Order 40. . . .”
    

11. 
    

12. 
    

13. 2.  Jamiel’s Law Requires Arrests.  Zine’s Motion Requests “Tattling.”
    

14. Zine’s requested changes don’t even call for the police to arrest gang members for entering the country illegally.  Instead, the police would merely “transmit information” to ICE, unless the police catch them committing some additional crime. 
    

15. 
    

16. Under Jamiel’s Law, the police would take action themselves to get gang members off the street immediately.  The police would arrest gang members as soon as they have probable cause to do so -- not just “transmit information” and hope for the best.  An hour or even a minute can be the difference between life and death.
    

17. 
    

18. 
    

19. 3.  Jamiel’s Law Eliminates Hurdles To Enforcement.  Zine’s Motion Creates Them.
    

20. Zine’s motion would authorize police to “transmit information” if, and only if, two conditions are met:  i) the police obtain the information “in the course of gang suppression investigations;” and ii) they “verify that a suspect is a known gang member.” 
    

21. 
    

22. Jamiel’s Law, by contrast, would let the police arrest a suspect whenever they have probable cause to do so, regardless of whether they come across that information through a “gang suppression investigation” or any other lawful means.  Nor would Jamiel’s Law require police to “verify” that the gang member is a “known” gang member.  Known or unknown, if a gang member is here illegally, we need to arrest him immediately -- before he takes the life of another outstanding young man like Jamiel.
    

23. 
    

24. Zine’s motion would create, rather than remove, hurdles that make it hard for police to deport gang members before they’re caught murdering our city’s residents.
    

You don’t have to take my word for any of this.  Read the text for yourself:  click here to read Dennis Zine’s motion and here to read  Jamiel’s Law for yourself.  You don’t need to be a Treasury agent to spot a three-dollar bill.  And you don’t need to be a lawyer to spot a counterfeit Jamiel’s Law.

Why doesn’t Zine require change, instead of requesting it?  Easy:  Zine does not want change.  He wants to look like he cares, while passing the buck. 

By passing his motion, he gives the appearance of taking action.  He has appeared on one radio show after another, claiming that he’s addressing the concerns of Jamiel’s family.  Jamiel’s family, however, wants Jamiel’s Law -- not watered-down phony.

If Zine’s motion passes, the Chief and Police Commissioners -- whose boss is Mayor Villaraigosa -- will of course decide to deny the request, and Zine will then shrug his shoulders and say it’s not his fault.  He will claim he tried, and claim “they” are to blame.

You, the voters, must not fall for Zine’s sham proposal.  The Mayor, Police Chief and Commissioners already have the power to terminate “sanctuary city” protection for gang members.  But they refuse to do it.  That’s why Jamiel’s Law is necessary.  We must therefore require action, not request it.

Zine’s motion constitutes a cynical attempt to mislead the public and pass the buck to someone else.  Zine was elected to City Council in 2001.  Zine travelled to Washington, D.C. in 2003 to oppose federal efforts to enforce immigration law.  He did nothing about the “sanctuary city” protection for gang members until I proposed Jamiel’s Law on March 25, 2008.  And then, instead of urging adopting of Jamiel’s Law, he proposed a watered-down “request” for action.

That’s not leadership.  That’s counterfeit leadership.