Trump admin sues Los Angeles: Feds accuse mayor of blocking ICE, fueling riots; target 'sanctuary city' policies

The Donald Trump administration has launched a legal battle against Los Angeles, suing the city, mayor Karen Bass, and the city council over its "sanctuary city" policies. In a lawsuit filed Monday, federal officials argue that LA’s ordinances defy the Constitution by deliberately blocking immigration enforcement and undermining federal law. "In 2024, then candidate Donald J. Trump campaigned and won the presidential election on a platform of deporting the millions of illegal immigrants the previous administration permitted, through its open borders policy, to enter the country unlawfully. Days after now President Trump won the November 5, 2024 election, the Los Angeles City Council, wishing to thwart the will of the American people regarding deportations, began the process of codifying into law its Sanctuary City policies," the lawsuit said."The challenged law and policies of the City of Los Angeles obstruct the Federal Government’s enforcement of federal immigration law and impede consultation and communication between federal, state, and local law enforcement officials that is necessary for federal officials to carry out federal immigration law and keep Americans safe," it added.The administration claimed the city’s stance fueled lawlessness and chaos, pointing to rioting, looting, and vandalism as consequences of shielding undocumented immigrants.Reacting to the lawsuit, LA city councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez said, as quoted by ABC7, Trump is tearing families apart and he's trying to force every city and town to help him carry out his white nationalist agenda. We refuse to stand by and let Donald Trump deport innocent families. We're going to do everything within our power to keep families together."However, attorney general Pam Bondi attributed the recent violence linked to federal immigration raids in the Southland to sanctuary policies. "Sanctuary policies were the driving cause of the violence, chaos, and attacks on law enforcement that Americans recently witnessed in Los Angeles," she said. "Jurisdictions like Los Angeles that flout federal law by prioritizing illegal aliens over American citizens are undermining law enforcement at every level -- it ends under President Trump," Bondi said in a statement, ABC7 reported. Several other cities, like Long Beach, Pasadena, Santa Ana, and West Hollywood, have enacted sanctuary policies, a move Trump has often condemned, even warning of cuts to federal funding for those local governments.