Los Angeles City Council advances motion to become nation's newest ‘sanctuary city’

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The Los Angeles City Council voted 12-0 Friday to advance an ordinance that would officially make it a "sanctuary city" for immigrants. 

The ordinance in California's largest city would prohibit "city resources, property, or personnel from being utilized for any federal immigration enforcement, and related matters," according to a record of the vote on the City Council’s website. 

The motion had previously been approved by the City Council’s Civil Rights, Equity, Immigration, Aging and Disability Committee and the Public Safety Committee, and asks the city attorney to write a draft making LA a "sanctuary city," FOX 11 reported. 

"For many people in Los Angeles who have been advocating for the city to become an official sanctuary city for many years, this is a long overdue process," Council member Nithya Raman, who was one of three members who introduced the motion, said.

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The Los Angeles City Council on Friday voted 12-0 to advance an ordinance that would officially make it a "sanctuary city" for immigrants.  ( Ted Soqui/Corbis via Getty Images)

Eunisses Hernandez, who also introduced the motion, said before the vote Friday, "This represents a message to our immigrant communities that you are important to us, we care about you, we know that you represent the nervous system of this city, the heart of this city and we got your back." 

Hernandez later tweeted, along with a video of her Friday remarks, "Today, our motion to draft legislation that would permanently enshrine sanctuary policies into City law was approved by City Council, a huge step forward in making Los Angeles a true Sanctuary City." 

Along with Raman, Hernandez and Hugo Soto-Martínez, who also co-introduced the motion, Council members Kevin DeLeon, Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Heather Hutt, Paul Krekorian, Tim Mcosker, Traci Park, Curren D. Price, Monica Rodriguez, and Katy Yaroslavsky all voted yes on the motion, while Bob Blumenfield and John Lee were absent. 

"One in ten Angelenos are undocumented, and this community needs to be able to trust the government and access critical services just like anyone else," Soto-Martínez tweeted Friday. 

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He added: "As immigrants across the country are facing increasing attacks from Republicans trying to use them as political pawns, it’s more important than ever to codify protections for our neighbors and ensure that LA is a true Sanctuary City." 

The motion was first introduced in March and would codify a similar 2017 directive issued by former L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti after former President Trump took office. 

An aerial view of of the downtown Los Angeles skyline, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022.  (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images, File)

The motion would also reportedly also instruct the city to prohibit inquiring about or collecting information about an individual's immigration status, engaging in investigation or enforcement related to an individual's immigration status, providing immigration authorities access to any non-public areas without a valid search or arrest warrant and providing access to city databases or any individual's personal information or other data to federal immigration authorities. 

While the City Council previously passed a resolution that declared Los Angeles a "city of sanctuary," The Los Angeles Times reported it was a symbolic gesture that offered no legal protections.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the City Council’s members. 

Fox News' Julia Musto contributed to this report.