A California Reader Remembers The Rodney King Riots, And The Deportations That DIDN'T Happen Afterwards

Re: James Fulford’s article  Gun Control—Like Immigration Law, Enforced Only Against Those Who Obey It [1]

From: Steve Smith [2] [Email him [3]]

I was there—a friend had a retail shop near Pico and  Robertson that I was installing cabinets in when the riot began. We immediately switched from installing cabinets to boarding up windows and retrieving guns.

Funny thing about the Rodney King riots: [4] most of the looters were Latino immigrants and aliens, a large portion were "Reagan amnestees [5]" (thanks, Ronnie).

I believe most of the captured looters and property destroyers were released with no charges filed, and many of the alien arrestees went on to get citizenship and voting rights.

I bet some of the arrestees have even since become public officials.

James Fulford [6] writes: Peter Brimelow’s Time To Rethink Immigration [7], published two months after the riots, ends with the following quote as a postscript:

"At a Cabinet meeting today, Attorney General William P. Barr said nearly one-third of the first 6,000 [Los Angeles] riot suspects arrested and processed through the court system were illegal aliens, according to a senior Administration official. Barr has not proposed any special effort to have them deported, a Justice Department spokesman said."
  —Washington Post, [8] May 6, 1992