Local leaders in Los Angeles spoke out against immigration enforcement operations across the city at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
L.A. City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto announced that her office, along with Los Angeles County and the cities of Pasadena, Santa Monica, Culver City, Pico Rivera, Montebello, Monterey Park, and West Hollywood, have filed a motion to intervene in a federal lawsuit, Vasquez-Perdomo v. Noem, that was filed on July 2 by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Public Counsel, and other immigration and civil rights groups.
A statement from Feldstein Soto on the motion to intervene in the lawsuit read in part:
“This lawsuit asks the court to prevent the federal government, including the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from engaging in unconstitutional and unlawful stops, round ups and raids without reasonable suspicion or probable cause and apparently based upon perceived ethnicity, from utilizing disproportionate force in carrying immigration enforcement activities, and from confining individuals at federal buildings in unlawful conditions without access to their attorneys.”
A previous lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump’s administration against the city of L.A. on June 30 claimed the city is obstructing the enforcement of immigration laws and creating an environment with its sanctuary policies that bar local police from sharing information on people without legal status, the Associated Press reported.
“The Administration is treating Los Angeles as a test case for how far it can go in driving its political agenda forward while pushing the Constitution aside,” said L.A. Mayor Karen Bass on Tuesday. “The City of Los Angeles, along with the County, cities, organizations and Angelenos across L.A., is taking the Administration to court to stop its clear violation of the United States Constitution and federal law. We will not be intimidated – we are making Los Angeles the example of how people who believe in American values will stand together and stand united.”
Federal immigration raids have taken place in the Los Angeles metro area and surrounding cities since June 6.
Similar federal lawsuits have been filed against other sanctuary jurisdictions, including New York, New Jersey and Colorado, that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities, the AP reported.
The White House and federal officials have vowed to continue immigration enforcement operations in Southern California and across the U.S.
“ICE will continue to enforce the law,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted on X.
The full press conference can be seen in the video player above.
