LOS ANGELES: The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday voted to adopt “sanctuary city” status for America’s second biggest metropolis, as liberal jurisdictions gird for Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
The ordinance, passed by a unanimous vote, will prohibit city resources or personnel from being used to implement federal immigration laws.
The move comes as Trump appears ready to push ahead with campaign promises to carry out mass deportations of undocumented migrants, with the appointment of hard-liners to his administration.
It also comes as liberal administrations across the United States, led by California, are trying to establish bulwarks against what they see as the expected excesses of a new Trump presidency.
Wednesday’s vote was passed with an urgency clause that would allow it to come into effect in as little as 10 days after Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass signs off on it.
There was no debate at the council meeting as the vote was a procedural repetition of an earlier agreement.
“We have been a pro-immigrant city for a number of years, we know that there is a target on our back from this president-elect, and what we are doing here is we are hardening our defenses,” Councilmember Bob Blumenfield said last month.
“We are codifying our good policies on protecting immigrants.”
Trump made a promise to crack down on migration the centerpiece of his election campaign, and rallygoers were frequently photographed carrying placards that said “Mass Deportation Now.”
The president-elect insisted that illegal migrants were disproportionately responsible for crime, even as figures show US citizens commit more offenses per capita.
The Los Angeles County Republican Party lashed out at Wednesday’s move.
“So-called ‘sanctuary’ cities and states sound warm and fuzzy, but the protections they offer aren’t for (grandmothers) getting ice cream, they’re for people who’ve entered the country illegally and committed additional crimes,” a statement said.
“Whether drunk driving, robbery, sexual violence, assault or murder, none of those should go unpunished. Perpetrators should definitely not be protected by the largesse taken from hard-working taxpayers.”
Los Angeles is home to a variety of cultures, with a large number of its residents first or second generation immigrants.