Council votes to protect its 1.35 million immigrants
Last week, Councilmember Curren Price seconded a motion that was introduced by Council members Nithya Raman, Eunisses Hernandez and Hugo Soto-Martinez and was referred to the Civil Rights, Equity, Immigration, Aging and Disability Committee. The motion calls for the LA city attorney to present a draft ordinance within 60 days to prohibit, to the extent permissible by law, any city resources, property, or personnel from being utilized for any federal immigration enforcement.
This is designed to ensure that the city protects vulnerable undocumented community members. The City of Los Angeles is home to more than 1.35 million immigrants, comprising over 34% of the city’s population.
While the city had previously passed an Executive Directive and a resolution limiting the city’s cooperation with federal immigration agencies, no ordinance has been enshrined into municipal law.
The several activities that will be prohibited include inquiring into or collecting information about an individual’s immigration or citizenship status or place of birth unless required to provide a city service, for the sole purpose of assisting a person in matters relating to their immigration status, or as required for employment purposes and responding to any civil immigration warrant or request to detain, transfer, or notify federal authorities about the release of any individual for immigration enforcement purposes.
