L.A. Killing Fields

Is justice an anomaly in the illegal immigration debate?

If you live in a sanctuary city it certainly is. In regard to the police, a sanctuary city is premised on a “don’t ask, don’t tell” philosophy.

How does this play out in practice? If an illegal immigrant is arrested, no one will know because immigration status will never come up in the conversation, resulting in the release of dangerous illegal immigrants on the American public. The Shaw family of Los Angeles knows this scenario all too well.

Jamiel Shaw, a 17-year-old all-around standout athlete and model citizen, was recklessly gunned down by 19-year-old Pedro Espinoza in Los Angeles. Espinoza, an illegal immigrant and member of the 18th Street gang, gunned Shaw down without reason. Most troubling is the fact that he had been released from county jail after serving time for assault with a deadly weapon.

Pedro Espinoza’s motive for killing Jamiel Shaw is clear. BK — an acronym for Black Killer— was tattooed on his neck with the B crossed out.

The crossed-out B is his claim of having killed black people. For these natural-born assassins, part of the initiation is to go out and randomly kill someone who is black for no reason at all.

This incident and many similar to this should never happen in this country. Espinoza, who was also raised in the American juvenile system, should have been deported early on due to his run-ins with the law.

Sanctuary cities are visibly a threat to our national security. Deadly and criminally intent illegal immigrants should not have a right to stay in America. Antonio Villaraigosa, the mayor of Los Angeles, has no answer for the Jamiel Shaw family. He is clearly playing to his base. After all, Los Angeles has the second-highest population of Mexicans behind Mexico City.

The City of Angels often hears chants from this community that Los Angeles was stolen from them and they're determined to take it back by any means necessary.

Sad to say, the Shaw family and many other families are facing an uphill battle in California. Regardless, their stories needs to be known, so that others who live in cities on the verge of turning sanctuary will fight back.