Los Angeles made a bold stand in the ongoing debate over immigration policy in the United States. The city’s council passed a new ordinance officially designating Los Angeles as a “sanctuary city” and barring the use of local resources to assist federal immigration authorities in enforcing deportation laws. This move, which comes just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, marks a significant point of tension between the incoming administration and the city, the second-largest in the United States.
The sanctuary city ordinance, a measure that aims to limit local government involvement in federal immigration enforcement, passed with the support of the city council and is expected to be signed into law by Mayor Karen Bass. The ordinance prevents city resources, including personnel and facilities, from being used to assist federal immigration agents in their efforts to enforce immigration laws, such as detaining and deporting undocumented individuals. It also prohibits city officials from sharing certain data with federal immigration authorities, effectively making it harder for them to track and arrest undocumented immigrants within the city.
Councilmember Nithya Raman, a key proponent of the ordinance, explained that the measure would “prevent federal immigration enforcement from being able to access city facilities or use city resources in the pursuit of immigration enforcement.” The decision is in line with a broader trend seen in several U.S. cities, including Boston and New York, where local governments have made similar moves to ensure that their resources do not aid in federal immigration crackdowns.
While the legal term “sanctuary city” does not exist, the label has been adopted by local governments that implement policies or practices to limit their cooperation with federal immigration agencies. In some cases, such as in Los Angeles, these sanctuary policies are enshrined into law, providing a firm basis for resisting federal immigration enforcement. In others, cities may simply adopt non-cooperation principles, changing local policing or data-sharing practices without formal legislative action.
This declaration of sanctuary status also extends to Los Angeles’ public school system, which reaffirmed its commitment to protecting undocumented immigrants and LGBTQ students. The school district, which serves hundreds of thousands of students, passed a series of emergency resolutions to bolster its sanctuary policies. These include providing training for teachers and staff on how to interact with immigration authorities and ensuring that students feel safe and supported, regardless of their immigration status.
The Los Angeles Unified School District’s vote is particularly significant given that the area is home to a large immigrant population, many of whom have lived in the city for years, if not decades. Board President Jackie Goldberg emphasized the importance of standing firm against the incoming Trump administration’s stance on immigration. “We’re not going to be running in fear,” she declared. “We’re going to fight you, every inch of the way.”
The passage of these sanctuary policies in Los Angeles, however, sets the city on a potential collision course with the incoming Trump administration, which has promised to carry out mass deportations from the very beginning of its term. Trump’s appointed “border czar,” Tom Homan, has made it clear that the federal government intends to target “sanctuary” cities, arguing that such policies would not prevent the administration from carrying out its immigration enforcement agenda.
In an interview with Fox News earlier this month, Homan stated, “Nothing will stop us from deporting migrant criminals,” and emphasized that federal authorities would carry out their operations “with you, or without you.” The Trump administration’s commitment to mass deportation has raised concerns across the country, particularly among immigrant communities and their advocates, who see sanctuary cities as a necessary safeguard against aggressive immigration policies.
As Los Angeles and other cities push back against federal immigration enforcement, the battle over sanctuary city policies is expected to intensify in the coming months. With President Trump’s inauguration on the horizon, the standoff between local governments and the federal government could shape the future of U.S. immigration policy and its enforcement at the local level.
