LA Mayor Bass works to expedite release of ‘sanctuary city’ ordinance: Daily Breeze

By JOSE HERRERA

After meeting with immigrant rights groups last weekend, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto worked to expedite the release of a proposed “sanctuary city” ordinance to the City Council, her office announced on Tuesday, November 12.

With President-elect Donald Trump set to take office in January, LA’s immigrant communities are preparing for his promised crackdown on undocumented immigrants. Although the city of Los Angeles has in recent years banned the use of its resources to assist federal immigration authorities, a sanctuary ordinance would formally codify such a policy.

“Especially in light of the growing threats to immigrant communities here in Los Angeles, I stand with the people of this city,” Bass said in a statement. “This moment requires urgency.”

The mayor added that protecting immigrants makes “our communities stronger and our city better.” She also thanked Feldstein Soto for her work and said she looks forward to working with Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Councilmembers Nithya Raman, Hugo Soto-Martinez, Eunisses Hernandez and others to provide protections for the city’s immigrant communities.

“Solidarity is an action, not a rhetoric. Los Angeles stands together,” Bass said in her statement.

Former Mayor Eric Garcetti issued an executive directive in 2019 that provided protections for the immigrant community. In addition, the Los Angeles Police Department mandates its officers not to inquire about immigration status or make arrests related to a migrant’s legal status, as outlined in Special Order 40.

In part, the proposed sanctuary ordinance would enshrine such protections on the city’s books.

The ordinance would also prohibit “any resources, property, or personnel of the city from being used for any federal immigration enforcement,” as well as the city’s cooperation with federal immigration authorities in “the performance of their duties” when it comes to immigration enforcement.

The City Council instructed the City Attorney to prepare a draft ordinance in June 2023.

On Monday, Trump’s new “border czar” Tom Homan said during an appearance on “Fox & Friends”: “Nothing will stop us from deporting migrant criminals.”

He also spoke about sanctuary jurisdictions, noting, “If we can’t get help from New York City, we may have to double the number of officers we send to New York City. Because we go to the job with you or without you.”

He also suggested that the president withhold federal funding to sanctuary jurisdictions.

Homan was the former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the first Trump administration.

Pedro Trujillo, organizing director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, told City News Service that LA’s proposed ordinance is something his group has “always supported,” and is now working to expedite Trump’s return to the White House.

Trujillo noted that when Trump first came to power in 2017, he made a number of administrative changes that affected immigrants, and CHIRLA expects similar actions this time.

“That’s why it’s important that the city passes the sanctuary ordinance, and that they actually put it into law,” Trujillo told CNS.

Of Homan’s comments, Trujillo said they were not new. He emphasized that the concern is how withholding federal funding will also impact American citizens.

“This is not a small amount, and taxpayers are all contributing — including undocumented immigrants,” Trujillo told CNS. “It’s obviously alarming, but it’s also something that everyone should be concerned about.”

He said the city’s adoption of a sanctuary ordinance would serve as an additional layer of protection for immigrants.

“We need the County of LA and the Board of Supervisors to also assess what they have and see what layers of protection they can provide,” Trujillo added. “And the same goes for the state.”