Woo Seeks Curbs on INS Cooperation : Law enforcement: His proposal follows incident in which L.A. police rescued 27 illegal-alien hostages and turned them over to federal agents.

Los Angeles City Councilman Michael Woo proposed new restrictions Wednesday on cooperation between the Los Angeles Police Department and federal immigration authorities in the wake of an incident last week in which LAPD officers turned over 27 kidnap victims to the INS.

“The department’s actions may have worked to destroy the fragile trust that the (refugee community) had developed with the Police Department,” Woo said in an interview.

Last week, family members of a Salvadoran man contacted police when coyotes, or immigrant smugglers, demanded a $1,000 ransom to release each of the hostages held in a South-Central “drop house.” LAPD Newton Division officers rescued the illegal immigrants only to turn all 27 over to the INS an hour later.

Woo said the incident may prevent future crime victims from contacting the police for help. Woo’s motion came after he discussed the incident with top police officials, including Assistant Chief Jesse Brewer, at a meeting on Monday.

His proposal states that the Police Department, with a few exceptions, should not “assist or cooperate with any (U.S.) Immigration and Naturalization Service investigation, detention, or arrest procedures.”

The proposal also would forbid the department from inquiring into the immigration status of an individual and from releasing any information regarding an individual’s immigration status to the INS. Exceptions would be made in cases in which an immigrant commits a felony or a drug-related offense.

Woo said the new proposal would clarify and strengthen the policy adopted by the city in 1985, when the councilman sponsored a resolution naming Los Angeles as a “city of refuge.” That resolution established that the Police Department should not identify crime victims to the INS.

“The policy that we fought to enact back in 1985 is becoming unraveled,” Woo said. “Ultimately, it’s going to be the Police Department that is going to suffer if victims or witnesses are afraid to contact the Police Department. We can’t leave the current policy as it is.”

LAPD spokesman Lt. Fred Nixon would not comment on Woo’s proposal, but added: “If this should become law, then we will certainly enforce it.”

The motion will likely be considered by the council’s Public Safety Committee next month.

Representatives of the Central American Refugee Center and the Coalition for Humane Immigration Rights of Los Angeles announced their support for the proposal at a Wednesday press conference.

Madeline Janis, executive director of the Refugee Center, said last week’s kidnaping incident “has led to a situation where . . . we can’t call the police if one of our clients is having an emergency.”

Woo said he expects some resistance to the proposal. “I think it’s going to take a lot of work. There are members of the council who may not be used to thinking of the needs of Central-Americans in Los Angeles,” he said.

Woo faced intense opposition in 1985 when he sponsored the council resolution declaring Los Angeles a city of sanctuary for Central-American refugees. The council approved the resolution, but later threw out some key provisions when opponents threatened to launch an initiative campaign to have it repealed.