Immigrants in South Lake Tahoe reach out to police and school district

South Lake Tahoe is a community of diverse backgrounds reaching around the world, and with President Trump's current dialog on immigration, concerns are arising among immigrants who call Tahoe home, and from those that represent them in the area.

The current enrollment of Lake Tahoe Unified School District shows 42.4 percent are Hispanic, 3.6 percent Filipino, 1.2 percent Asian, 48.1 percent white and the rest of other nationalities.

Bill Martinez, Executive Director of the Family Resource Center, school PTAs and parents will be attending Tuesday night's Lake Tahoe Unified School District board meeting at 5:00 p.m. and ask for reassurances and show support of our immigrant community.

Among other concerns were how immigrants would be treated by the South Lake Tahoe Police Department so SLT Police Chief Brian Uhler has provided an outline of the police department's long-standing policy and philosophy surrounding immigration. He sent a letter to City Council and staff and it has been reprinted here with permission from Chief Uhler.

Regarding the recent questions regarding immigration related fears, I offer the following which outlines the philosophy related to immigration matters by SLTPD:

1. Officers and staff of the SLTPD do not investigate immigration-related issues on behalf of the federal government.

2. Nothing in the President's executive orders obligates the South Lake Tahoe police department to change our current practices.

3. In the event South Lake Tahoe police officers arrest people who were involved in serious criminal activity, and who also have questionable immigration status, they will be booked into El Dorado County Jail for the crime but not charged with immigration-related crimes. In such cases, it is between El Dorado County Jail officials and immigration officials to evaluate and bring potential immigration-related charges.

4. In the event South Lake Tahoe police officers encounter people who have warrants for their arrest, whether federal or not, whether immigration-related or not, such people will be arrested as we are obligated to comply with such warrants for arrest when these orders are signed and executed by a judge.

5. The South Lake Tahoe police department has a long-standing practice of not actively pursuing immigration-related matters. This philosophy is grounded in this key belief that maintaining good relations and open communication with those who may be victims of human trafficking or victims of crime should feel comfortable reporting such crimes without fear of deportation or immigration-related actions against them.

In short, anyone who lives in our community, regardless of their immigration status, should feel comfortable reporting crime, being witnesses to crime, and working with the police.

Martinez and a group of concerned parents will be speaking during the LTUSD board meeting on Tuesday, January 31. Public comment is allowed at 5:00 p.m. prior to the start of their Al Tahoe school study session. At this time no public comment is scheduled at the 6:00 p.m. resuming of the regular school board meeting.