Los Angeles - The federal government on Monday filed a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles and others alleging that local sanctuary policies thwart federal immigration enforcement actions. The suit raises serious legal and public policy concerns. 

Please attribute the following response regarding that lawsuit to Talia Inlender, Deputy Director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law:  

"The Trump administration’s lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles and its leadership is yet another attempt to punish the city for its commitment to protecting the rights of all residents, including immigrants.  

“The lawsuit ignores what courts have repeatedly found in similar challenges--the federal government cannot commandeer local resources for use in immigration enforcement without violating state and local autonomy principles that are enshrined in our Constitution. While states and localities cannot obstruct the federal government, Los Angeles is on strong legal footing that its law does not do so. Instead, Los Angeles' ordinance reflects a sound and lawful choice that is backed up by empirical data confirming the public safety and economic benefits of policies that disentangle city resources from federal immigration enforcement."

About UCLA CILP:

Founded in 2020, the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law expands the law school's role as a national leader in immigration law and policy, generating innovative ideas at the intersection of immigration scholarship and practice and serving as a hub for transforming those ideas into meaningful changes in immigration policy. 

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