LA City Council unanimously declares ‘Sanctuary City,’ rejects federal immigration enforcement

The city of Los Angeles passed the “sanctuary city” ordinance to protect immigrants from the federal government’s crackdown on illegal immigrants. This is just one day after President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to mobilize the military to fulfill his promise to deport illegal immigrants. LA is the first metropolitan city in the country to take steps to protect immigrants after the election.

On November 19, the LA City Council unanimously passed a proposed ordinance (52B) that states that the city government will not use its resources and manpower to enforce immigrant laws by the federal government and will not ask or raise questions about the status of residents, except for serious crimes.

This is only six days after LA Mayor Karen Bass and the city administration announced they would refine such provisions and pass the ordinance through the City Council.

The city council members collectively expressed their concerns about the policy conflicts with the LA city and the inaugurating Trump administration and explained the justification for passing the ordinance.

“With the election results likely to lead to a major crackdown on undocumented immigrants and deportations next year, Los Angeles will serve as a sanctuary for immigrant families,” said LA City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson (Council District 8) and Councilmember Curren Price (Council District 9). ”Based on the materials and legal grounds prepared by the city prosecutor, residents should be aware that the city government’s resources and personnel will not be used to target immigrants.”

On November 12, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office submitted a report to the City Council, which states it prohibits asking or collecting an individual’s immigration status, investigating, imposing fines, arresting, or detaining an individual for the enforcement of federal immigration laws, cooperating with federal law enforcement officers who enforce federal immigration laws, allowing federal immigration officers access to city detention facilities and private areas of city property without a warrant, allowing federal immigration officers to interview a person under the city’s protection without the person’s consent, cooperating with federal immigration operations or raids.

The city prosecutor’s report essentially declares that the city will not cooperate with the activities of the federal immigration agency. As a result, conflicts of interest between the federal and municipal governments may lead to a situation where they do not interact in any way.

Despite the concerns, the city council on November 19 was unprecedentedly hard-line. Councilwoman Imelda Padilla (Council District 6) said, “Since the presidential election, I have received many phone calls and emails from the residents of LA. If the City Council does nothing and watches the new federal government’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants, they will not be able to win the favor of the residents. The City Council once again strongly demands that the new federal administration not attempt to enforce immigration laws on the residents of LA.”

Jim McDonnell, the new chief of the LAPD, also aligned himself with the city government’s actions at his inauguration on November 14. “The LAPD will not engage in the enforcement of undocumented immigrants,” he said, ”and will not cooperate with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).”

BY BRIAN CHOI, HOONSIK WOO [choi.inseong@koreadaily.com]