The Trump administration filed a lawsuit on Monday targeting the city of Los Angeles, along with its mayor and other top officials, over policies the federal government says obstruct immigration enforcement and unfairly single out federal agents.
The legal action lists Mayor Karen Bass, who is currently under intense scrutiny, and the entire Los Angeles City Council as defendants. The complaint argues that the city’s sanctuary stance hampers the ability of immigration officers to perform their federally mandated duties.
“Sanctuary City laws and policies are designed to deliberately impede federal immigration officers’ ability to carry out their responsibilities in those jurisdictions,” the lawsuit reads in part.
The lawsuit asserts that the ordinance and related directives in Los Angeles violate the law by deliberately treating federal immigration personnel in a discriminatory fashion.
“The Los Angeles Ordinance and other policies intentionally discriminate against the Federal Government by treating federal immigration authorities differently.”
In a strongly worded statement, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi condemned Los Angeles.
“Sanctuary policies were the driving cause of the violence, chaos, and attacks on law enforcement that Americans recently witnessed in Los Angeles,” she said.
Bondi further criticized jurisdictions with similar policies, saying their actions endanger public safety.
“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.”
The lawsuit comes on the heels of chaotic demonstrations earlier this month in downtown Los Angeles. Protesters targeted Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, torched vehicles, and engaged in widespread vandalism and looting of area businesses.
{Matzav.com}