Los Angeles Authorities on Tuesday issued an order prohibiting all municipal employees from assisting federal immigration officials in their search for undocumented migrants to deport, as reported in El País.

In addition, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)  Chief Charlie Beck and LA Mayor Eric Garcetti revealed reports confirming that sexual assault filed by Latinos have decreased 25% since the beginning of 2017 compared with the same period last year; meanwhile, reports of domestic violence fell by 10% during the same period. Reports by other ethnic groups did not experience similar falls.

Beck said that although there is no clear evidence that this decrease is directly linked to Latinos’ unease over current immigration policies, the LAPD suspects that fear of deportation is making undocumented residents think twice before reporting a crime.

There are an estimated 800,000-plus illegal migrants living in LA. The city decided back in 1979 that its police would not cooperate with federal immigration agencies and the LAPD ended the practice of stopping people exclusively to find out about their legal status.

As reported in El País.