Judge dismisses Trump administration lawsuit over LA sanctuary city policy | Los Angeles
A California court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Donald Trump administration against Los Angeles over a city ordinance that limits cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
Fernando Olguin, a judge in the U.S. district court for Central California, rejected the administration’s argument that the city’s policy was unconstitutional. He gave permission to the administration to file an amended complaint.
The White House did not immediately respond to the Guardian’s request for comment on the decision on Monday.
Los Angeles city attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto said: in a statement The decision was called Monday a legal victory for the city, which was the scene of several immigration raids by ICE and border patrol agents last summer.
“This order reinforces the well-established principle that local governments have the authority to decide how to use their personnel and resources,” Feldstein Soto said in a statement released Monday.
“The purpose of this regulation and the LAPD’s immigration-related policies (dating back to Special Executive Order 40 in the 1970s) is to encourage victims and witnesses of crimes to feel safe coming forward to seek assistance from the LAPD, regardless of their immigration status. It does not hinder or impede lawful federal immigration enforcement operations.”
The lawsuit, filed by the administration last June, alleged that Los Angeles violated federal law by enacting policies prohibiting the use of city resources to assist in immigration enforcement operations or collect information about individuals’ citizenship status.
The lawsuit comes weeks after Trump sent troops to quell protests against deportation operations in Los Angeles.
Olguin on Saturday rejected the administration’s claim that the city was trying to unconstitutionally regulate the federal government, finding instead that the ordinance “controls the actions of the city’s own representatives and agencies.”
The Trump administration has filed numerous lawsuits challenging similar policies adopted in districts run by Democrats.
Federal judges dismissed administrative lawsuits against the cities of Boston and Chicago.
