Los Angeles Pushes Forward on Sanctuary City Status As Trump's Potential Immigration Policies Loom

In the week that has transpired since Donald Trump's victory over Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential elections, California Governor Gavin Newsom has been vying to position the state as a space of resistance against the President-elect's expected attacks on abortion, electric vehicles, immigration and federal disaster aid. As a result, the Democrat announced a special session of the state legislature to "Trump-proof" California.

Newsom also made the rounds this weekend when he shared a two-minute video in which he said that he will stay vigilant to what he considers an attack on "American values and freedoms."

On Monday, Los Angeles City officials revealed that they too are pushing for measures to prepare for projected immigration policies by the next administration, specifically working to fast-track a "sanctuary city" ordinance for L.A.

The announcement was made by Mayor Karen Bass through a statement on the city's website which read:

"This moment demands urgency. Immigrant protections make our communities stronger and our city better. I want to thank City Attorney Feldstein Soto for her work and I look forward to working with Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Councilmember Nithya Raman, Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez and other members of the Council to enact needed protections for the immigrant communities of Los Angeles. Solidarity is an action, not rhetoric. Los Angeles stands together."

The push for sanctuary status for Los Angeles gained momentum after a protest downtown last week, where community members and immigrant rights advocates urged the city council to adopt the ordinance. The demonstration, held just days after Election Day, highlighted the anxieties many Angelenos feel over anticipated federal immigration policies.

Felipe Carceres of the Service Employees International Union, one of the protest's organizers, criticized the city for delaying action:

"This ordinance has been languishing for two years at City Council. [The city needs to] make sure that undocumented workers know that the city of L.A. is a place where we're not going to have collaboration with ICE for anything"

The proposed ordinance builds on existing protections, including former Mayor Eric Garcetti's 2019 executive directive, which restricted LAPD officers from questioning immigration status or arresting individuals based on legal status. It would also prohibit "any city resources, property or personnel from being utilized for any federal immigration enforcement,'' as well as city cooperation with federal immigration authorities in "execution of their duties'' as it pertains to immigration enforcement.