Sheriff Luna on Trump's mass deportation plans: 'We will not start asking about immigration status'
"We don't do enforcement on civil immigration," he said. "So we'll continue to do what we do."
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- There's been growing fear from residents since President-elect Donald Trump said he would declare a national emergency and use the military to conduct mass deportations.
After the Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted to adopt a "sanctuary city" ordinance, those living in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County are curious to know what steps the sheriff's department will take.
L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna spoke with Eyewitness News on Thursday and said his department "isn't changing much" of what it's currently doing and assured there's no plan for deputies to enforce civil immigration laws.
"The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department does not enforce civil immigration enforcement ... we don't do enforcement on civil immigration," he said. "So we'll continue to do what we do."
During his 2024 campaign, Trump often referenced military personnel forming a part of his plans to assist the deportation, but how they would do that under existing legal authorities was left vague. On Monday, however, Trump confirmed that he planned to declare a national emergency to carry out that campaign promise.
Luna urged residents that on a local level, "it would be a huge strategic error to enforce civil immigration laws."
More: LA immigration lawyer tells clients 'know your rights' as 2nd Trump administration begins
"There's a lot of rhetoric and I don't want people to be afraid to call the sheriff's department when they need something," said Luna. "If they're a witness to crime, if they're a victim to a crime, they need to call us. We don't and will not start asking people about their immigration status. That becomes very important. Public trust is paramount to safe neighborhood."
But what about violent criminals? Will there be exceptions?
Luna said under the current laws, LASD is not allowed to go out and initiate any activity.
"Local law enforcement's job is not civil immigration," said Luna. "Now if somebody at the federal government, one of the agencies, is asking for help, we will assist if they need help. We will do that for any law enforcement agency but it does get very technical in regards to when we do or do not help, but what our community needs to know is don't be afraid to call the sheriff's department."
Luna said a third of the population LASD serves are immigrants and vows to keep public safety a top priority.
"If you have anybody negatively impacting our community, committing crimes, we're going to do everything we can to get those individuals off the street," he said.
Meanwhile, newly appointed Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell, who's worked closely with Luna, has said the department would not engage in immigration enforcement.
At McDonnell's recent swearing-in ceremony, the new chief said, "We're not in that business. We will not be doing any of the things that people are worried about recently. And we'll work forward with an open dialogue with ... concerns. We want to hear them and we want to address them quickly so the rumors don't get started, we don't see panic in some of our communities. That's the last thing we want and need."
ABC News contributed to this report.
