The Los Angeles City Council officially declared the city a “sanctuary” for migrants on Tuesday, barring the use of city resources or personnel to assist federal immigration enforcement.
Council members passed the ordinance unanimously, 13-0, strengthening previous policies by explicitly prohibiting the direct or indirect sharing of data with federal immigration authorities. The vote follows President-elect Donald Trump’s recent vow to use the U.S. military to carry out mass deportations of illegal immigrants.
“Immigrants make up the very fabric of Los Angeles, and they deserve to feel safe and protected in the city they call home, no matter who is in power,” said Councilmember Nithya Raman, whose family moved to the U.S. from India when she was six years old.
“I am who I am today because of immigrants—people like my parents, extended family, and the community who raised me,” said Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez. “The same is true for Los Angeles, a city built on the dreams and labor of generations of immigrants. We will not allow hateful rhetoric or destructive policies to tear families apart or dim the light of their contributions.”
Los Angeles, the nation’s second-largest city, is home to more than 1.35 million immigrants, comprising over 34% of its population.
GOP leaders in Los Angeles blasted Tuesday’s vote as misguided.
“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,” said Roxanne Hoge, Communications Director for the Republican Party of Los Angeles County. “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.”
To coincide with the City Council’s vote, the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education also voted unanimously on Monday to adopt a “sanctuary city” resolution. The resolution calls for LAUSD teachers and staff to undergo training on how to respond if contacted by federal immigration officials.
President-elect Trump recirculated a social media post on Monday that suggested his administration would declare illegal immigration a national emergency and use military resources to deport those who are in the country illegally.
In a single-word response, Trump labeled the claim as “TRUE!!!”
While campaigning for president, Trump promised deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th-century law that allows the summary detention and removal of any foreign national above the age of 14 who hails from a country at war with the United States.
