This week the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, and the Los Angeles City Council over policies that Los Angeles enacted shortly after President Donald J. Trump’s reelection to interfere with the federal government’s enforcement of its immigration laws.
The DOJ said in a press release that the “sanctuary city” policies of the City of Los Angeles are illegal under federal law. It alleges in the complaint that Los Angeles’ refusal to cooperate with federal immigration authorities contributed to the recent rioting.
“Sanctuary policies were the driving cause of the violence, chaos, and attacks on law enforcement that Americans recently witnessed in Los Angeles,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “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.”
“Today’s lawsuit holds the City of Los Angeles accountable for deliberately obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration law,” said U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “The United States Constitution’s Supremacy Clause prohibits the City from picking and choosing which federal laws will be enforced and which will not. By assisting removable aliens in evading federal law enforcement, the City’s unlawful and discriminatory ordinance has contributed to a lawless and unsafe environment that this lawsuit will help end.”
On her first day in office, Attorney General Bondi instructed the Department’s Civil Division to identify state and local laws, policies, and practices that facilitate violations of federal immigration laws or impede lawful federal immigration operations, and, where appropriate, to take legal action to challenge such laws, policies, and practices.
“Today’s lawsuit is the latest in a series of lawsuits brought by the Civil Division targeting illegal sanctuary city policies across the country, including in New York and New Jersey,” the DOJ said.
