L.A. Mayor Karen Bass Responds to Federal Lawsuit Against Citywide Sanctuary Policy

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass responded on Tuesday against a federal lawsuit that challenges the city over it’s sanctuary policies, with Mayor Bass directly stating that it is part of an “all out assault” against L.A.

The lawsuit, United States of America v. the City of Los Angeles, was first filed on Monday. In the suit, the federal government says that Los Angeles’ sanctuary city policy, which bars city resources from being used for immigration enforcement, and stops law enforcement in the city from assisting immigration authorities like ICE, essentially discriminates against federal law enforcement agencies. By treating them differently and isolating them even if in need, the federal government claims that federal agencies aren’t as well treated as city, county, or state agencies. Specifically, the suit said that this violated the United States Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.

The U.S. Department of Justice added that not only are Los Angeles’s sanctuary city policies illegal under federal law, but L.A.’s refusal to cooperate with federal immigration authorities contributed to the recent protests and riots that was so severe that it required the federal government to deploy the California National Guard and the United States Marines to quell the chaos.

As the city’s refusal to work with federal authorities exacerbated the protests and riots so much, the federal government was left with no choice but to file the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for Central California on Monday, formally suing the City of Los Angeles, Mayor Bass, the Los Angeles City Council, and City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson.

“Sanctuary policies were the driving cause of the violence, chaos, and attacks on law enforcement that Americans recently witnessed in Los Angeles,” explained Attorney General Pam Bondi in a statement. “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,” added 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.”

Federal lawsuit over Sanctuary City status

While this wasn’t the first such action against sanctuary policies under the Trump administration, with the first lawsuit against sanctuary policies being filed against New York earlier this year in March, it was the first to happen in California. On Tuesday, City Council members and Mayor Bass held press conferences, denouncing the suit and promising to challenge it.

“The suit is part of Trump’s white nationalist agenda,” said City Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez. “Trump is tearing families apart and he’s trying to force every city and town to help him carry out his white nationalist agenda. We refuse to stand by and let Donald Trump deport innocent families. We’re going to do everything within our power to keep families together.”

“This is essentially an all-out assault against Los Angeles,” added Bass on Tuesday. “We will stand strong. We do so because the people snatched off city streets and chased through parking lots are our coworkers, our neighbors, our family members, and they are Angelenos. The federal crackdown on Los Angeles is a test case for similar actions in other American cities. But me and other local leaders won’t be intimidated by the unwarranted and cruel actions of this administration.

“L.A. will stand strong, and we will stand together. We are a city of diversity, of labor, of business, of faith, of community, of creativity, of success. We are a proud American city, and we will stand united.”

The federal lawsuit against L.A. over their sanctuary policies is only the latest in the numerous back and forth of lawsuits of the Trump administration and California. This includes recent lawsuits including the DOJ suing Orange County over alleged withholding of noncitizen voting records, and Governor Gavin Newsom suing the federal Government for calling up National Guard troops without his ok.

As of Tuesday evening, Governor Newsom has yet to respond to the L.A. lawsuit.