Los Angeles, one of the largest and most diverse cities in the United States, has officially become a sanctuary city for immigrants. This means that the city will not cooperate with federal immigration authorities or use any city resources for immigration enforcement.
As if in observance of the city’s new status, on Tuesday, a busload of 42 migrants arrived from Texas, where they had been detained by border patrol agents. They were welcomed by city officials and community organizations, who offered them legal assistance, health care, and housing.
The migrants are part of OPeration Lone Star, a program initiated by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who has been sending buses of migrants to various cities across the country. Abbott says he is trying to relieve the pressure on the border towns, where thousands of people are crossing illegally every day.
However, critics say that Abbott is using the migrants as political pawns to undermine President Biden’s immigration policies and to spread fear and misinformation about the border crisis.
Los Angeles is one of the cities that Abbott has targeted, along with New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. These cities have all declared themselves as sanctuary cities, which means that they limit their cooperation with federal immigration authorities and protect the rights of immigrants.
Los Angeles City Council members Eunisses Hernandez, Hugo Soto-Martinez and Nithya Raman introduced a motion in March to officially designate Los Angeles as a sanctuary city and to prohibit any city resources, property or personnel from being used for any federal immigration enforcement.
The motion was approved unanimously by the City Council on June 9, after receiving support from various immigration advocates and organizations.
The council members said that they wanted to send a clear message to the immigrant community that Los Angeles is a safe and welcoming place for them.
“For many people in Los Angeles who have been advocating for the city to become an official sanctuary city for many years, this is a long overdue process,” Raman said.
According to Raman, L.A. is home to millions of immigrants, and many school children have at least one immigrant parent.
“A significant number of residents in Los Angeles live in fear of being apprehended, detained and deported by federal immigration authorities,” Raman said.
The city of Los Angeles took its first steps to formally protect its immigrant community in 2019, when then-Mayor Eric Garcetti issued an executive directive that offered protections to the immigrant community. However, it lacked the permanence of a city law.
The new ordinance will codify existing protections and also bar federal immigration authorities or other entities connected to immigration enforcement from accessing city databases or anyone’s personal data.
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