December 23, 2010 The Southern California Immigration Coalition and the South Central Neighborhood Council will denounce the increasing wave of LAPD and Sherriff’s “Sobriety” Checkpoints which continue to be strategically used to legally steal thousands of cars from undocumented immigrants. Stealing cars from Immigrants has become a multimillion dollar industry that is now being used to alleviate the city’s budget deficit. In 2009, the state of California shamefully profited $40 million from these checkpoints. This is being done at the expense of the undocumented community and is particularly shameful during this holiday season.

Under the pretext of looking for drunk drivers, the LAPD and Sherriff’s Departments are specifically racially profiling Latinos by strategically placing “Sobriety” checkpoints in predominantly Latino communities. These include “Sobriety” checkpoints on Tuesday mornings in strictly residential neighborhoods. These are obviously traps to catch unlicensed drivers. Both of those departments acknowledge that the GREAT majority of the cars impounded are NOT from drunk drivers but from unlicensed drivers; most of whom are undocumented.

Because Mayor Villaraigosa has publicly stated his opposition to the racial profiling that is taking place in Arizona, we call on him and the City Council to end this same type of racial profiling and attacks on immigrants here in Los Angeles. Elected representatives of the South Central Neighborhood Council will present a resolution (attached) which they are spreading to other Neighborhood Councils and eventually to the LA City Council that calls for the end to the confiscation of vehicles at Sobriety Checkpoints for drivers who are simply unlicensed.

The central objectives will be:
1) To call for an IMMEDIATE halt to the impounding of vehicles at sobriety checkpoints for people who are NOT under the influence
2) To make a call for our communities to defend themselves from the Police and Sherriff’s Departments by resisting the Checkpoints
3) To publicly present the resolution that was approved by the South Central Neighborhood Council that calls for an end to the confiscation of cars of unlicensed drivers and the campaign to bring this to the City Council.

Organizers will be available for interviews

What: Community organizations to denounce Villaraigosa, the LAPD and the Sherriff Department for stealing cars from Immigrants, especially during Christmas

Where: LA City Hall, 200 North Spring St. Los Angeles, CA 90012

When: Thursday, December 23, 2010
Time: 4:30 P.M