Los Angeles City Council approves 'sanctuary city' ordinance

People wearing face masks and holding signs take part in the annual May Day marches downtown Los Angeles May 1, 2021. Thousands of people took to the streets across the nation Saturday to march in May Day rallies, calling for immigration reform, workers’ rights and police accountability. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

by: Iman Palm

Posted: Jun 9, 2023 / 05:05 PM PDT

Updated: Jun 9, 2023 / 05:35 PM PDT

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The Los Angeles City Council on Friday unanimously approved a motion to make Los Angeles a “sanctuary city” for immigrants.

The motion directs the city attorneys to prepare an ordinance that would enshrine the sanctuary policies into the city’s municipal code to ensure that no “city resources, property, or personnel are used for federal immigration enforcement,” according to a news release.

The motion also directs other city departments to report ways Los Angeles could limit direct and indirect data sharing with federal immigration authorities.

In the past, the city council passed a symbolic resolution declaring that L.A. was a sanctuary city, but no sanctuary policies were written into law.

Migrant rights groups hold candles during a vigil to protest against Donald Trump's crackdown on "sanctuary cities" outside the City Hall in Los Angeles on Jan. 25, 2017. — Migrant rights groups hold candles during a vigil to protest against Donald Trump’s crackdown on “sanctuary cities” outside the City Hall in Los Angeles on Jan. 25, 2017. (Credit: MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)

“Our immigrant communities make up the nervous system of Los Angeles. They need more than symbolic gestures and internal policies that can change from administration to administration,” Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez said in a statement.

“They need lasting protections that are enshrined into city law. It’s time for LA to finally become a true sanctuary city.”

Councilmember Hernandez, along with Councilmembers Nithya Raman and Hugo Soto-Martinez, introduced the motion to the council in March.

A 2022 report from USC indicated that 3.6 million residents in Los Angeles County are immigrants. Councilmember Raman indicated that immigrants are the “very fabric of this city.”

Prior to the motion’s passage, the city’s immigration policies were reflective of an executive directive issued by former Mayor Eric Garcetti and the Los Angeles Police Department’s internal policies.

Those policies were subject to change, as they have not officially been codified as permanent protections for the city’s immigrants.

California has been a sanctuary state since 2017.