Los Angeles passes sanctuary city ordinance in wake of Trump election victory

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Los Angeles city lawmakers voted Tuesday to formally adopt a sanctuary city ordinance, weeks after President-elect Trump's victory, amid promises to carry out mass deportation raids.  

The 13-0 vote will prohibit Los Angeles from providing any city resources or personnel to be used to help federal enforcement of immigration laws.

City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, along with Mayor Karen Bass, released the draft ordinance last week that was written with help from immigration groups.

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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers detain a suspect as they conduct a targeted enforcement operation in Los Angeles, California, U.S. in February 2017. The agency’s Boston office said Wednesday that two men were taken into custody after it alerted the public about them through a flyer. (Courtesy Charles Reed/U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement via Reuters) (Courtesy Charles Reed/U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement via Reuters)

Council members Hugo Soto-Martinez and Monica Rodriguez, who chair the council's Civil Rights and Public Safety committees, respectively, waived the matter from their jurisdictions to expedite a vote on the matter. 

California has been a sanctuary state since 2017 with the passage of SB 54, which prohibits local law enforcement agencies from using resources to investigate, detain, report or arrest people for immigration violations.

During a debate Tuesday, many public speakers pushed for the sanctuary ordinance, saying immigrant communities should be protected from "unimaginable cruelty" of raids that could separate families and target migrants who come to the U.S. to work. 

Others raised concerns about the depletion of resources given to help illegal immigrants, given that the city is contending with mass homelessness and a housing crisis. 

Sanctuary cities typically don't cooperate with federal immigration authorities, refusing to honor detainer requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which are used to take custody of criminal illegal immigrants for deportation. 

Many times, such jurisdictions will release the suspects back onto the street without informing ICE. Some have gone on to reoffend, sometimes violently, before being apprehended again. 

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LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 02: A view of Los Angeles City Hall. Twin Towers Correctional Facility on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023 in Los Angeles, CA. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) (Getty Images)

The vote will come two weeks after President-elect Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris, following a campaign in which he promised to tighten the southern border and carry out mass deportations of millions of illegal immigrants, targeting criminals who've committed a variety of crimes after illegally entering the United States. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to Trump representatives. 

Tom Homan, who previously served as acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and has been tapped by Trump to serve as his "border czar," previously suggested mass deportations are necessary in the wake of the "historic illegal immigration crisis."

"President Trump has made it clear we will prioritize public safety threats and national security threats first. And that's what the focus should be," he told Fox News host Sean Hannity last week.

Former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti issued an executive directive in 2019 that offered protections to immigrants. Los Angeles has followed sanctuary city guidelines but an ordinance was never codified into law. Additionally, the Los Angeles Police Department mandates that its officers not inquire about immigration status or make arrests related to a migrant's legal status.

Newly appointed Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell has said the department won't participate in immigration enforcement. 

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Demonstrators advocate for Los Angeles city leaders to adopt a sanctuary city ordinance on Tuesday.   (Fox Los Angeles )

The Los Angeles County Republican Party criticized the ordinance, saying sanctuary protection would shield criminals who have entered the United States illegally. 

"A country without secure borders isn't a country at all. So-called ‘sanctuary’ cities and states sound warm and fuzzy, but the protections they offer aren't for abuelas (grandmothers) getting ice cream, they're for people who've entered the country illegally and committed additional crimes," LACGOP Communications Director Rozanne Hodge told Fox News Digital. "Whether drunk driving, robbery, sexual violence, assault or murder, none of those should go unpunished. Perpetrators should definitely not be protected by the largesse taken from hard-working taxpayers."

If the City of Los Angeles would like to have thriving, safe, clean streets and businesses in time for the Olympics, maybe they could accept the will of the people who just tossed George Gascon out on his ear and focus on public safety for everyone," she added. 

Trump's victory has spurred officials in various parts of the country to vow to push back on deportations. 

President Donald Trump visits the US-Mexico border fence in Otay Mesa, Calif. on Sept. 18, 2019. (NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)

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On Sunday, Boston's Democrat Mayor Michelle Wu said her city won't cooperate with any deportation operation from ther incoming Trump administration, despite her region seeing a number of illegal immigrants being charged with crimes and released back onto the streets. 

Arizona's Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs said her state, which voted for Trump, will not be aiding the incoming administration with its "misguided" plan to launch a mass deportation operation.

Following California Gov. Gavin Newsom vowed to fight the incoming Trump administration.

"Whether it be our fundamental civil rights, reproductive freedom, or climate action — we refuse to turn back the clock and allow our values and laws to be attacked," he said.