Several Los Angeles City Council members, Eunisses Hernandez, Hugo Soto-Martinez, and Nithya Raman, have announced that they are proposing an ordinance to make L.A. a “sanctuary city.” The Los Angeles Times reports the rule would bar city personnel and resources from being used in federal immigration enforcement and prohibit federal immigration authorities or other entities connected to immigration enforcement from accessing city databases or personal data.
The proposal follows a move by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, who voted to ban the transfer of inmates to ICE custody unless authorities had a judicial warrant in 2020. The proposed law is similar to the San Francisco “sanctuary city” regulation and would codify existing policies.
Nearly 10% of the country’s 11.1 million illegal immigrants live in Los Angeles and Orange counties, according to a 2017 Pew Research Center report. The proposed ordinance seeks to limit the interaction between the Los Angeles Police Department and ICE officers. During a recent press conference, council member Hernandez claimed that it’s time for Los Angeles to live “up to its promise to our immigrant communities,” and that “symbolic gestures are not enough.”
