In response to President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to begin deporting undocumented immigrants on his first day in office, LA Mayor Karen Bass has expedited plans to designate Los Angeles as a sanctuary city.
On November 13, the LA Mayor’s office announced Mayor Bass’s proposal for a Sanctuary City Ordinance. Over the weekend, Mayor Bass met with immigration and advocacy groups, including City Attorney Hyde Feldstein Soto, to coordinate details of the proposal.
The ordinance aims to clarify existing city policies that protect undocumented residents. Should the ordinance pass the city council, departments such as the LAPD will be prohibited from assisting federal immigration authorities with deportation operations targeting undocumented individuals.
In part, the proposed sanctuary ordinance would enshrine such protections in the city’s books.
Additionally, the ordinance restricts federal immigration authorities’ use of city-owned facilities and assets for arresting and deporting undocumented residents, intending to limit their operations within LA’s jurisdiction.
This is not LA’s first step in supporting undocumented residents. Former Mayor Eric Garcetti issued an executive order in 2019 prohibiting the LAPD from inquiring about residents’ immigration status or making arrests based solely on their status, in response to advocacy from immigration groups.
The Mayor’s office explained that the urgency behind the sanctuary city ordinance stems from President-elect Trump’s anticipated hardline immigration policies.
“Especially in the face of growing threats to the immigrant communities here in Los Angeles, I stand with the people of this city,” Bass said in a statement. “This moment demands urgency.”
President-elect Trump previously stated his intention to initiate mass deportations of undocumented immigrants on his first day in office.
On November 13, he appointed Stephen Miller, known for his strict immigration stance, as the Deputy Director of Domestic Policy. He has also nominated South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security and Tom Homan, former acting ICE director, as the administration’s “border czar.”
BY HYOUNGJAE KIM, YOUNGNAM KIM [kim.youngnam@koreadaily.com]
