<p>Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents commonly wear uniforms that read &ldquo;POLICE ICE&rdquo; on the back &ndash; but are they cops?</p>
<p><strong>Absolutely.</strong> Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a federal law enforcement agency, thus ICE agents can be called &ldquo;police.&rdquo; They&rsquo;ve been doing it for years. ;</p>
<p>Even so, LA police officers are complaining that ICE agents are endangering public safety by identifying themselves as police. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;It is the universally recognized term for law enforcement and our personnel routinely interact with individuals from around the world,&rdquo; explains ICE spokeswoman Sarah Rodriguez. &ldquo;In the often dangerous law enforcement arena, being able to immediately identify yourself as law enforcement may be a life or death issue.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>This argument is not new, but it has come to a head following Donald Trump&rsquo;s election and his executive orders on immigration policy and declaration of the end of sanctuary cities.</p>
<p>On Feb. 23rd, LA Mayor Eric Garcetti sent a letter asking ICE officials to change their behavior:</p>
<p>&ldquo;For 40 years, the LAPD and the Los Angeles City Attorney&rsquo;s Office have worked to gain the trust, respect, and cooperation of all our city&rsquo;s residents. This hard-won confidence makes all of Los Angeles safer, encouraging witnesses and victims of crime to come forward irrespective of their immigration status.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The letter blames ICE agents for &ldquo;eroding the public safety in our city&rdquo; by masquerading as police officers. &ldquo;In Los Angeles, the term &lsquo;police&rsquo; is synonymous with the Los Angeles Police Department, so for ICE agents to represent themselves as police misleads the public into believing they are interacting with LAPD&hellip;LAPD does not initiate police action with the objective of determining a person&rsquo;s immigration status.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>The letter was also signed by LA City Attorney Mike Feuer and LA City Council President Herb J. Wesson.</p>
<p>PB views this letter ;as a blatant announcement to illegals that the city police are on their side and won&rsquo;t enforce certain laws. The demand that ICE agents change their behavior is a shocking defiance of federal law.  ;</p>
<p>Los Angeles has been a &ldquo;sanctuary city&rdquo; since 1979. Last month, LA Police Chief Charlie Beck reassured the city&rsquo;s illegal population that these policies won&rsquo;t be changing. &ldquo;Your status has nothing to do with your contact with Los Angeles Police Department,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We will not give you to ICE. We will not refer you to ICE.&rdquo; ;</p>