Bellevue Chief: Police won’t ask residents for immigration status

BELLEVUE, Wash. -- Bellevue Police Chief Steve Mylett joined Seattle and Los Angeles chiefs this week and reassured residents that officers would not be asking them for their immigration status or using police resources to apprehend undocumented immigrants.

The Seattle Times reports that Mylett's comments are in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump's pledge to strengthen federal immigration laws and deport millions of people living in the United States illegally.

“What’s important here is that the Bellevue Police Department is committed to serving and protecting all residents,” Mylett said. “We don’t want someone who is the victim of a crime to have any fears about talking to the police because of their immigration status. I do not and will not allow that to happen.”

This week, Bellevue Mayor John Stokes also sought to reassure residents concerned about anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric.

Bellevue’s foreign-born population reached almost 40 percent in 2015, according to the city and U.S. Census figures. Of foreign-born residents, 10 percent are Latino, and 67 percent are Asian, reports the Times.