Overview

• The Justice Department filed suit on June 30 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against Los Angeles, naming Mayor Karen Bass, Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson and the full city council as defendants.
• The complaint targets L.A.’s November 2024 sanctuary ordinance, alleging it discriminates against federal immigration agents by restricting ICE access to city resources and detainees.
• DOJ argues the policy unlawfully obstructs federal enforcement of immigration laws under the Supremacy Clause and requests a court injunction to block its implementation.
• The lawsuit cites recent ICE raids in Los Angeles, ensuing protests and a federal deployment of the National Guard and Marines as evidence of the ordinance’s destabilizing effects.
• This legal action is the latest in a nationwide campaign of suits against sanctuary jurisdictions, following similar challenges to New York, Chicago, New Jersey and Illinois.