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Los Angeles formally adopts sanctuary city law. Here's what that means
Los Angeles City Council members (at center, left to right) Hugo Soto-Martinez, Eunisses Hernandez and Nithya Raman, all backers of a new "sanctuary city" ordinance, stand outside L.A. city hall with pro-immigrant advocates.
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Leslie Berestein Rojas
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LAist
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The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday formally adopted a sanctuary city ordinance, prohibiting city resources or personnel from being used to assist federal immigration authorities in President-elect Donald Trump’s planned mass deportation efforts.
The vote was 12-0. Councilmembers John Lee, Traci Park and Nithya Raman were absent.
The council initially approved the ordinance on Nov. 19, but made some minor language changes, requiring a second vote. The ordinance included an urgency clause, which means it could go into effect within 10 days of being signed by Mayor Karen Bass, which she is expected to do.
The ordinance
A 2017 executive directive by then-L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti gave similar directives to the city, but was not legally binding.
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The sanctuary ordinance is not the only protection for immigrants on the books. A decades-old special order prohibits LAPD officers from initiating contact with immigration enforcement over someone’s legal status. And a 2018 state law declared California a sanctuary state.
Public comment
Jason Bautista of the Thai Community Development Center said safety was a key issue in the discussion.
“Los Angeles should be a city where people feel safe from immigration enforcement and safe when applying for city services and not worry about private information being gathered and shared with immigration authorities,” Bautista said.
Pedro Trujillo of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles said it was important for Los Angeles to send a message beyond its boundaries.
“We believe its so important for this City Council to make a statement to the world that we are a city of immigrants and that we stand with immigrants and that our communities will not shy away from the attacks of the Trump administration,” Trujillo said.
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Trump administration position
Tom Homan, the former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement tapped to be Trump's "border czar,'' has denounced sanctuary jurisdictions.
Using New York City as an example, he told Fox & Friends last month: "If we can't get assistance from New York City, we may have to double the number of agents we send to New York City. Because we're going to do the job with you or without you.''
Trump has suggested withholding federal funding from sanctuary cities.
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But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
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