The Trump administration filed suit on Monday against the city of Los Angeles, claiming that its sanctuary city policies are illegal and interfere with the federal government’s effort to enforce immigration law.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, seeks an injunction and a declaration that the city is violating the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution.
President Donald Trump has federalized the National Guard and dispatched Marines to the city to respond to protests of ICE immigration raids. The ICE agents, many of whom are masked, have been spotted throughout the region, arresting about 2,000 immigrants since June 6, according to internal documents reviewed by The New York Times.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement, “Sanctuary policies were the driving cause of the violence, chaos, and attacks on law enforcement that Americans recently witnessed in Los Angeles. Jurisdictions like Los Angeles that flout federal law by prioritizing illegal aliens over American citizens are undermining law enforcement at every level – it ends under President Trump.”
The lawsuit also names as defendants Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, the Los Angeles City Council and Marqueece Harris-Dawson, president of the council. Spokespersons for Bass and Harris-Dawson did not immediately return requests for comment.
The sanctuary city policy limits police cooperation on immigration enforcement.
The lawsuit claims that the “Los Angeles Ordinance and other policies intentionally obstruct the
sharing of information envisioned by Congress, thereby impairing federal apprehension and detention of removable aliens, including dangerous criminals, as required by federal law. Obstructionist Sanctuary City laws preclude Los Angeles officials and law enforcement agencies from assisting federal immigration authorities unless federal officials procure criminal arrest warrants to take custody of removable aliens. The preferences of the City of Los Angeles notwithstanding, Congress made an explicit policy choice that such removals can be effectuated by civil arrest warrants for immigration enforcement.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom filed suit against Trump over his decision to send troops to the city, arguing that it was overreaction that only inflamed tensions. The case is ongoing, although an appeals court earlier this month ruled that Trump could continue with the deployment for now.
More to come.
