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Chief Carmen Best to Serve as Co-Chair of the Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force

The Seattle Police Department is honored to announce that Chief Carmen Best will serve as co-chair for the Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force (LEITF).

The LEITF is made up of 116 law enforcement officials from across the country. Task Force members are committed to protecting all members of their communities, and committed to supporting policies that promote their ability to do so.

“The LEITF has worked tirelessly to protect the rights of all people,” said Chief Carmen Best. “From coast to coast, Task Force members are dealing with issues around immigration, and remain committed to building trust and enhancing relationships in their communities. The LEITF provides an important platform for this endeavor. It is an honor to serve as co-chair, and I look forward to continuing our efforts to support safer communities and advance commonsense immigration reform.”

Chief Best will be co-chairing the LEITF with Chief Art Acevedo of the Houston Police Department and Sheriff Margaret Mims of the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office.

“Chief Best is a respected member of the law enforcement community, and I am thrilled that she is bringing her leadership to the role of Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force co-chair,” said Chief Acevedo. “I want to thank our outgoing co-chair, Chief Tom Manger, for his dedication to the work of the task force and sensible immigration policy.”

“Chief Best has brought valuable experience and ambition to our task force, and we look forward to her insight as co-chair,” said Sheriff Mims. “I am thrilled to welcome her, and we look forward to continuing to work alongside her, and all task force members, on behalf of public safety and the good of our communities.”

Chief Best has been an active member of LEITF for the past four years, and has supported a number of Task Force initiatives including support for a bipartisan solution for Dreamers, denouncing family separation, urging alternatives to family detention, support of a First Responders bill that would help the families of first responders who die in the line of duty apply for citizenship more quickly, and more.

In addition to serving as LEITF co-chair, Chief Best will continue to support immigration initiatives in her role as Chair of the Human and Civil Rights Committee (HCRC) for the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).