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Trump administration sues Los Angeles over its sanctuary city policies
L.A. City Council unanimously voted in 2024 to establish Los Angeles as a “Sanctuary City”.
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Jacob Margolis
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LAist
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The Department of Justice is suing Los Angeles over its sanctuary city policies, alleging that the city’s laws “deliberately” obstruct federal immigration enforcement.
In the lawsuit filed Monday, the department blames the ordinance for why it deployed the National Guard and U.S. Marines.
“Sanctuary policies were the driving cause of the violence, chaos, and attacks on law enforcement that Americans recently witnessed in Los Angeles,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement.
L.A. declared itself a sanctuary city in 2019 and enshrined its policies into law last year. The declaration does not allow the city to cooperate with federal agents and prohibits federal agents from using city resources — staff and property — for immigration enforcement.
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“Trump is tearing families apart and he’s trying to force every city and town to help him carry out his white nationalist agenda,” L.A. City Council member Hugo Soto-Martinez said. “The lawsuit gets one thing right. We refuse to stand by and let Donald Trump deport innocent families. We’re going to do everything within our power to keep families together.”
L.A. City Council member Ysabel Jurado called the lawsuit baseless in a statement.
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"(This) is just the latest political attack meant to scapegoat immigrant families, who continue to show extraordinary resilience in the face of relentless cruelty," Jurado said. "We will do everything in our power to ensure Los Angeles remains a place of refuge and dignity for all."
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass did not immediately respond to LAist’s requests for comment.
More from the lawsuit
The Department of Justice argues that the sanctuary policies violate the Constitution, and unlawfully regulates and discriminates against the federal government.
The department is asking a judge to void the city's sanctuary policies by declaring them unlawful and unenforceable.
What are L.A.’s policies?
The city’s sanctuary laws prohibit the use of city resources for immigration enforcement.
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The Los Angeles Police Department officers can’t question or detain people based on their immigration status. Officers also can’t hold people in jail past their release date at the request of ICE agents. Federal agents can’t use city services to access residents’ personal data.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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