Los Angeles establishes itself as 'sanctuary city' to prohibit enforcement of federal immigration laws
The ordinance passed the city council without a single dissenting vote and is expected to directly clash with Donald Trump and Tom Homan's immigration policy.
The ordinance passed unanimously at the Los Angeles City Council/ Etienne Laurent.
Los Angeles passed an ordinance to formally establish itself as a 'sanctuary city.' The local City Council voted unanimously to prohibit the use of city resources and personnel to aid federal immigration enforcement efforts.
The vote came shortly after Donald Trump announced he was declaring a national emergency to use military assets to carry out his deportation plan, with Tom Homan at the helm. The bill was pushed by Mayor Karen Bass and City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto.
Specifically, the ordinance would prohibit "the use of any city resources, property or personnel for the enforcement of federal immigration laws," as well as the city's cooperation with federal immigration authorities in "the performance of their duties" regarding immigration enforcement.
"In my district, a house catches on fire, and no one calls the fire department because nobody wants to invite the government in and risk deportation. (The ordinance) codifies that and puts us in a position to scaffold and build up on that to maintain Los Angeles as the kind of place where we can all live in peace, we can continue our productivity and where we can lead the nation as a city of immigrants," stated Marqueece Harris-Dawson, incoming president the City Council.
On the occasion of an executive directive from former Mayor Eric Garcetti, Special Order 40, the Los Angeles Police Department orders its officers not to inquire about immigration status and not to make arrests related to an immigrant's legal status. The ordinance in question would also enshrine these items on the city's books.
The ordinance possibly conflicts directly with Trump's plans for his second administration and specifically with Homan's agenda.
Bass recently stated that he was moving the vote forward precisely to address the president-elect's agenda. "This moment demands urgency," he declared last Nov. 12.
The former director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told Fox & Friends that "nothing will stop us from deporting criminal migrants." Taking New York City as an example, he assured that "if we can't get help from New York City, we may have to double the number of agents we send to New York City. Because we will go to work with you or without you."
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