LA approves more protections for undocumented immigrants
Members of immigration advocacy groups demand the City Council enact an ordinance making Los Angeles into a sanctuary city outside Los Angeles City Hall in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles City Council has approved a package of motions aimed at protecting undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles amid a federal crackdown on illegal immigration and threats to so-called sanctuary cities.
In a 10-0 vote, council members – including Filipino American Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado – instructed staff to report back on policies that would require businesses to notify the city of all Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity and inform workers of their rights ahead of potential raids.
Council members referred a motion calling for $540,000 to maintain immigration legal services — which would cover a gap created when the Trump administration froze such funding — to the budget committee for further discussion.
The City Council approved two other motions on a 12-0 vote. Those motions required separate action after council members Jurado and Monica Rodriguez introduced amendments.
Council members authorized staff to begin work on a citywide “Know Your Rights Campaign,” which is expected to inform LA immigrants about nondiscrimination protections, the city’s sanctuary policy, and other resources available to them.
There are an estimated 951,000 undocumented immigrants – including 48,000 Filipinos – in LA County, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
In her amendment, Rodriguez requested that the Los Angeles Police Department report on its process for handling U-Visas. The visas are available to immigrants who are victims of crimes such as domestic violence and sexual assault, among others. The LAPD is expected to address how many of the visas have been issued since 2017, as well as any barriers victims face in securing them.
Council members also requested a report on ways to review compliance with the city’s “sanctuary” policy, which prohibits the use of city resources and personnel for federal immigration enforcement.
Jurado’s amendment requested an analysis of the California Values Act. Specifically, she said she hopes it will provide guidance to the LAPD — in response to reports that officers provided traffic control during ICE raids in the Pico Union area. Mayor Karen Bass’ office and LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said the operation in question involved federal officers serving a criminal warrant in a human trafficking investigation.
McDonnell also repeated his stance that the LAPD does not participate in immigration enforcement, a policy that has been in place in 1979.
As part of the actions Wednesday, the council also approved a resolution declaring the city’s position in favor of California increasing funding for deportation defense for immigrants.
Following Wednesday’s meeting, Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez — who authored the motions alongside several of his colleagues — thanked city departments and immigration advocates who helped craft the proposals.
“These motions are important because we have to use every single tool to fight back because we cannot normalize these human rights issues,” Soto-Martinez said.
The councilman criticized the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration and lambasted some recent federal actions, including sending illegal immigrants to prisons in El Salvador and Guantanamo Bay without hearings and taking away legal representation for undocumented children.
“This whole rhetoric about this being about criminals is simply not true,” Soto-Martinez said. “This is about families and children. We cannot play nice with this administration trying to appeal to their better angels. They simply do not exist.”
Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, hailed the city’s actions.
“It is important for the city of Los Angeles to stand up for our community and send a clear and resounding message that immigrants belong in this city, this county and this country,” she said.
Bamby Salcedo, CEO of The TransLatin@ Coalition, said in a statement she was grateful to live in a city that understands “their responsibility and stands with the beautiful and diverse community that makes our city.”
The council’s Trade, Travel and Tourism Committee on Tuesday approved a separate motion to provide nonprofit legal services at Los Angeles International Airport in preparation for a potential travel ban. It will be voted on by the full council at a future date.
Roxanne Hoge, chair of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County, criticized the council’s actions.
“The obsession of California Democrats with using Californians’ taxes to assist those who chose to not follow immigration laws would be amusing if it weren’t so devastating,” Hoge said in an email to City News Service.
She stated the city should instead focus on helping victims of the Palisades Fire and fund more police to stop retail theft and home invasion robberies.
“Los Angeles’ sanctuary policies preventing the deportation of wanted criminal migrants arrested for other crimes threaten to put more federal funding at risk and worsen the city’s already bleak financial predicament, as well as ensuring that other migrants become collateral damage,” Hoge said.
In November 2024, the City Council and Mayor Karen Bass formally established Los Angeles as a “sanctuary city.”
While the city already had certain policies in place to prevent departments from working with ICE, the designation formally created a policy that no city staff or resources can be used to collaborate with federal immigration authorities without a judicial warrant.
In his first week in office, President Donald Trump issued several executive orders targeting illegal immigrants and sanctuary cities such as LA, Chicago and other Democrat-led jurisdictions, authorizing ICE enforcement in schools and churches, among other places.
The president has threatened to cut federal funds for sanctuary cities if they do not aid in ICE enforcement. (With CNS report)
