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Judge dismisses Trump administration lawsuit over LA sanctuary city policy
Los Angeles said the ruling represented a legal victory. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Los Angeles said the ruling represented a legal victory. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images Judge dismisses Trump administration lawsuit over LA sanctuary city policy City hails victory after US officials sued over ordinance that limits LA’s cooperation with immigration authorities A California court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Donald Trump’s administration against Los Angeles over a city ordinance limiting its cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Fernando Olguin, a judge in the central California US district court rejected the administration’s argument that the city’s policy was unconstitutional. He gave the administration permission 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 on Monday that the ruling was a legal victory for the city, which saw a profusion of 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 on Monday. “The goal of this ordinance, and of LAPD’s immigration-related policies – which date back to special order 40 in the 1970s – is to encourage victims of and witnesses to crime to feel safe coming forward to seek help from LAPD regardless of their immigration status. It does not obstruct or impede lawful federal immigration enforcement operations.” The administration’s lawsuit, filed last June, alleged that Los Angeles violated federal law by enacting policies barring city resources from being used to aid immigration enforcement operations or collect information about individuals’ citizenship status. The lawsuit came weeks after Trump deployed troops to quell protests in Los Angeles against deportation operations. Olguin on Saturday rejected the administration’s argument that the city unconstitutionally tried to regulate the federal government, finding instead that the ordinance “controls the actions of the city’s own agents and agencies”. The Trump administration has filed several lawsuits challenging similar policies adopted in jurisdictions run by Democrats. Federal judges have dismissed administration lawsuits brought against the cities of Boston and Chicago. Explore more on these topics Los Angeles West Coast Trump administration US politics US immigration news Share Reuse this content
