By Jose Herrera
City News Service
LOS ANGELES (CNS) – The City Council voted Tuesday, Nov. 19, to formally establish Los Angeles, the second-largest municipality in the nation, as a “sanctuary” for migrants, prohibiting city resources or personnel from being used to help federal enforcement of immigration laws.
The council voted 13-0 to approve the Sanctuary City Ordinance, which codifies protections for migrants in the country illegally and closes a gap in past policies by prohibiting the direct or indirect sharing of data with federal immigration authorities.
Council members Traci Park and John Lee were absent during the vote.
The ordinance requires a second vote by the council because it was amended, which could happen in the first week of December. It would then head to Mayor Karen Bass for her signature, and once approved will go into effect within 10 days as a result of an urgency clause attached to it.
The city’s action came two weeks after Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election following a campaign in which he stressed border security and promised to deport people who are in the United States illegally.
“We have been a pro-immigrant city for a number of years, we know that there is a target on our back from this president-elect, and what we are doing here is we are hardening our defenses,” Councilman Bob Blumenfield said. “We are codifying our good policies on protecting immigrants.”
Representatives for the president-elect did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the LA County Republican Party issued the following statement:
“A country without secure borders isn’t a country at all. So-called ‘sanctuary’ cities and states sound warm and fuzzy, but the protections they offer aren’t for abuelas getting ice cream, they’re for people who’ve entered the country illegally and committed additional crimes. Whether drunk driving, robbery, sexual violence, assault or murder, none of those should go unpunished. Perpetrators should definitely not be protected by the largesse taken from hard-working taxpayers.
“If the city of Los Angeles would like to have thriving, safe, clean streets and businesses in time for the Olympics, maybe they could accept the will of the people who recently tossed George Gascón out on his ear and focus on public safety for everyone.”
While LA has prohibited the use of its resources from assisting federal immigration authorities in past years, the sanctuary ordinance formally codifies such a policy.
In part, the ordinance enshrines protections issued by former Mayor Eric Garcetti during the first Trump administration. Additionally, the council adopted changes to the language so it aligned with California’s “sanctuary state” law, known as SB 54 or the California Values Act of 2017.
The LA Police Department also complies with its Special Order 40, established in 1979, which mandates that its officers not inquire about immigration status or make arrests related to a migrant’s legal status.
Councilwoman Nithya Raman, who championed the ordinance alongside colleagues Hugo Soto-Martinez and Eunisses Hernandez, noted that Garcetti’s executive directives are binding on the city, but could be rescinded by the mayor at any time. She said the ordinance “goes beyond” the directive.
“This new ordinance would codify the approach that LA has prioritized since 1979: Angelenos must be able to call for help when they need it without fear, regardless of their immigration status,” Raman said.
“With mass deportations on the federal agenda, codifying our city’s sanctuary city executive directive into law is how we can keep all Angelenos safer,” she added.
The ordinance does make an exception for the LAPD to assist enforcement of federal immigration law only for serious offenses – an amendment introduced by Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson.
He said this addition closes a loophole that “would leave the city Vulnerable.”
Harris-Dawson said it allows police to communicate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for a migrant who is convicted of a violent felony, deported but returns to the United States. The amendment is similar to the department’s current policy, which has only been invoked two times since 2018, he added.
Miguel Santana, president and CEO of the California Foundation, hailed the city’s vote on the ordinance. In a statement, he called immigrants the “backbone of Los Angeles,” who contribute more than $200 billion to the region’s local economy and nearly $40 million state, federal and local taxes.
“This ordinance sends a powerful message that in Los Angeles, city leaders will not stand by as families and neighborhoods are torn apart,” Santana said in a statement. “We will not turn our backs on our neighbors, our family and our friends.”
Prior to the vote, more than 100 immigrant rights advocates – such as members of The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, SEIU Local 721, Central American Resource Center, LA County Federation of Labor, among others – rallied outside City Hall.
Angelica Salas, executive director of CHIRLA, told supporters that the city is home to nearly a million immigrants and many who are undocumented.
“Los Angeles should be a city where people can feel safe from immigration enforcement,” Salas said. “…These are our tax dollars and we want these tax dollars to be used for good, not for harm, and not for cruelty.”
Last week, City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, in partnership with Bass, released the draft ordinance, making it public for the first time after it was called for more than a year ago.
Soto-Martinez and Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez, who chair the council’s Civil Rights and Public Safety committees, respectively, waived the matter from their jurisdictions, expediting a vote on the issue by the full Council.
During Tuesday’s Board of Police Commission meeting, newly appointed LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said the department would not engage in immigration Enforcement.
“It’s crystal clear to us at to what our role is as a police agency, and it’s not to participate with ICE in any kind of roundups or any of the things that have been [rumored] – that won’t occur with the LAPD in Los Angeles,” McDonnell said.
“We need the trust of the people that we serve in this community. The migrant community is a big part of this community, and if people aren’t willing to come forward and be witness and stand up to what they saw and try to do the right thing to help protect themselves and their neighbors then we can’t be effective in trying to protect the residents of the city,” he added.
Board members also asked the chief to brief them on issues related to Immigration.
Trump previously said he would deploy the National Guard, as well as government agencies, to carry out his proposed deportation plans targeting undocumented migrants with criminal records.
Last week, Tom Homan, tapped to be Trump’s new “border czar,” said during an appearance on “Fox & Friends” that “Nothing will stop us from deporting migrant criminals.”
Homan addressed sanctuary jurisdictions, using New York City as an example and noting that, “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.”
He also suggested that the president withhold federal funding to sanctuary jurisdictions.
On Monday, conservative commentator Tom Fitton said in a post:
“Reports are the incoming @RealDonaldTrump administration prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program.”
Responding to Fitton’s remarks, Trump wrote one word: “TRUE.”
In related action Tuesday, the LA Unified School District Board of Education unanimously adopted a resolution reaffirming its previous 2017 declaration as a “sanctuary district.” The district’s resolution calls for training of teachers and staff about how they should respond if approached by federal immigration authorities.