Is the Trump Administration Intensifying Legal Conflicts with Los Angeles?

Sacramento, July 1 (NationPress) The US Justice Department has initiated legal action against the City of Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass, and the City Council, seeking a federal judge's intervention to invalidate the city's sanctuary ordinance, claiming it hinders federal immigration enforcement.

Filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California, the lawsuit argues that Los Angeles has breached the Constitution's Supremacy Clause along with two federal information-sharing statutes by preventing local law enforcement and other agencies from collaborating with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unless a suspect is charged with serious felonies.

The Justice Department is requesting a court order to block the ordinance, which was enacted following a unanimous council vote on December 9, 2024.

US Attorney General Pamela Bondi stated that the policy was a major contributor to the violence and unrest seen in Los Angeles recently, as indicated in a press release issued on Monday. She described the lawsuit as part of President Donald Trump's commitment to “eliminate lawless sanctuary jurisdictions.”

Officials in Los Angeles strongly contested this narrative, with Mayor Bass stating, “To describe our city as chaotic is simply false,” during her June 12 visit to demonstrators opposing recent immigration raids, arguing that federal actions “terrorize families and harm our economy.”

The ordinance prohibits the use of city funds, personnel, or property in support of federal immigration operations, restricts data sharing with ICE, and instructs city jails to disregard detainer requests unless a judicial warrant is provided, as per reports from Xinhua.

City leaders noted that the measure reinforces limits already established by California's 2017 Values Act, which successfully withstood a challenge at the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals in 2019. According to estimates from the US Census Bureau, approximately 35 percent of residents in Los Angeles County are foreign-born.

Quick to support the nation’s second-largest city, California's top officials responded. Governor Gavin Newsom labeled the lawsuit as “political theatre” in a written statement.

State Attorney General Rob Bonta emphasized during a Monday press conference that federal agents “cannot enlist local law enforcement to perform their duties,” referencing the Supreme Court's anti-commandeering doctrine.

Civil rights advocates shared similar sentiments. The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California denounced the lawsuit as “an unconstitutional attack on immigrant communities,” asserting that sanctuary policies encourage crime victims and witnesses to report incidents to police.

The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles cautioned that reversing these protections would “push thousands of Angelenos further into the shadows,” according to their press release.

Conservative groups welcomed the lawsuit. The Centre for Immigration Studies stated that the ordinance “allows deportable offenders to return to the streets.” Concurrently, the Federation for American Immigration Reform deemed it “a much-needed step towards public safety” in their respective policy briefs.

Legal experts suggest that this dispute could redefine the power dynamics between federal authorities and local governments. Historically, courts have been hesitant to compel cities to enforce deportations. However, the Justice Department contended that Los Angeles exceeded previous cases by prohibiting even contractors from sharing basic inmate release data.

If the Trump administration prevails, Los Angeles may be required to provide ICE with routine access to city jails, inform agents when non-citizen inmates are released, and comply with immigration detainers. Critics argue this could undermine years of trust built with immigrant communities. Conversely, if the city is successful, other municipalities across the US may enhance similar protections, leading to a broader patchwork of policies nationwide.

This lawsuit is the most recent in a series of federal challenges targeting sanctuary policies in cities like New York, Chicago, and several locations in New Jersey.