Is L.A.’s planned ‘sanctuary city’ law languishing?

Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record — our City Hall newsletter. It’s Dakota Smith at the helm, with help from David Zahniser.

In early 2023, three L.A. City Council members gathered outside City Hall to introduce a motion for a new law that would bar city personnel and resources from being used in federal immigration enforcement.

L.A.’s “sanctuary city” law — presented by Councilmembers Nithya Raman, Hugo Soto-Martinez and Eunisses Hernandez — would be modeled after one passed by San Francisco. In June 2023, the City Council voted to have city attorneys draft the law.

Now, the November election is looming. Former President Trump has vowed to carry out the biggest mass deportation of immigrants in U.S. history if he wins, while Vice President Kamala Harris’ immigration record has critics on the left and right.

The sanctuary city law has not returned for a vote at the council, puzzling some advocates who worked with the city for months on the motion.

“As we get closer to November, there is a lot of anxiety about what could happen,” said Shiu-Ming Cheer, deputy director of immigrant and racial justice at California Immigrant Policy Center.

Jana Whalley, a supervising attorney for the Immigrants Rights Project at Public Counsel, pointed to the heated rhetoric around immigrants in this year’s election. The city’s law is “definitely still not on the books in the way that it needs to be,” Whalley said.

Council members haven’t explained the ordinance’s status. Representatives for Raman and Soto-Martinez declined to comment for this article. Hernandez’s spokesperson Chelsea Lucktenberg told The Times that “Hernandez is committed to seeing [the ordinance] through.”

A representative for City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto‘s office sent a confidential report to the council in June 2023 about the law and told the council the ordinance would be transmitted back to the council.

A representative for the city attorney’s office declined to comment on its status.

For some advocates, the delay marks another chapter in L.A. City Hall’s choppy efforts to declare itself a sanctuary city.

A divided City Council in 1985 adopted a resolution declaring Los Angeles a city of sanctuary for immigrants fleeing political persecution and violence, particularly refugees from El Salvador and Guatemala. After one councilman threatened a ballot measure to overturn the resolution, the council watered it down and dropped the word “sanctuary.”

Following President Trump’s election in 2016, L.A. council members introduced a resolution to declare L.A. a “city of sanctuary.” But it took the city two years to vote on it. By then, immigrant advocates said the declaration had lost its significance.

In 2017, then-Mayor Eric Garcetti issued an executive directive that prohibited all city employees from using public facilities or resources to assist or cooperate with federal civil immigration enforcement. But the directive doesn’t have legal teeth.

Leaders at the state level, including then-state Sen. Kevin de León and others pushed policies to protect immigrants after Trump’s promised crackdown. Ultimately, policies passed before and after Trump’s election led to fewer deportations in California during Trump’s presidency compared to that of President Obama, said Chris Newman, legal director and general counsel for the National Day Laborer Organizing Network.

The motion presented last year by the three council members and seconded by Councilmembers Curren Price and Heather Hutt would codify Garcetti’s executive directive into law. Among other things, it would bar federal immigration authorities or other entities connected to immigration enforcement from accessing city databases or anyone’s personal data held by the city.

The law’s language is not known and it’s not clear how the law would intersect with Los Angeles Police Department policies.

The proposal was criticized last year by a representative for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, who argued it would draw more migrants to L.A., strain L.A.’s education and healthcare systems, and ultimately cost taxpayers.

Some immigration advocates this week suggested the outcome of the presidential election would spur the council.

“If Trump wins, I predict that this ordinance will move with lightning speed,” said Newman.

State of play

— SIRENS, SIRENS: The city’s financial woes are worsening, City Controller Kenneth Mejia warned city leaders in a letter Thursday. Revenues are down, expenses are up and the city drew down nearly half of its general fund reserves — a pot of money for emergencies— to cover the deficit in last year’s budget, Mejia wrote.

— MARATHON MEETING: The Times’ Liam Dillon followed a marathon meeting of the Planning Commission on Thursday, where commissioners moved forward a plan to accommodate hundreds of thousands of housing units in L.A. The commission backed staff’s proposal to maintain the zoning in single-family home neighborhoods.

— HOT SEAT: Sexual assault at L.A. County’s notoriously troubled juvenile halls was a topic Wednesday at a U.S. Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing led by Sen. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey), chair of the subcommittee on criminal justice and counterterrorism.

— SPEAKING OF HOT: Los Angeles County is suing a foundation set up to benefit L.A. County firefighters, accusing its operators of using donations as a personal “slush fund.” The foundation’s representatives have denied any wrongdoing and accuse the county of wasting taxpayer funds.

— METRO VIOLENCE: The second Metro bus hijacking in six months and at least the fifth homicide on the system this year is bringing more scrutiny to conditions on buses and trains.

— FIREFIGHTERS WEIGH IN: United Firefighters of Los Angeles City Local 112 endorsed the reelection campaign of City Councilmember Kevin de León this week, saying he has “consistently proven his dedication” to the city’s firefighters by advocating for the resources they need. De León’s opponent, tenant rights attorney Ysabel Jurado, has her own base of labor support, including the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and United Teachers Los Angeles.

— FUNDRAISING FILINGS: Meanwhile, De León reported this week that he has raised $376,907 for the Nov. 5 runoff election. Jurado, an attorney, raised $252,739. She has collected $217,000 in matching funds, compared to his $137,557.

In the east San Fernando Valley, former State Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian reported raising $346,260 in his bid for a council seat being vacated by Councilmember Paul Krekorian, according to filings that cover the period ending Sept. 21. Small business owner Jillian Burgos, his opponent, has raised $106,038. She also received $166,107 in city matching funds, compared to Nazarian’s $108,794.

Attorney Grace Yoo, who is challenging City Councilmember Heather Hutt in a district stretching from South L.A. to Koreatown, has raised $181,182 so far, compared to Hutt’s $173,437. Yoo has $115,388 in matching funds, while Hutt hasn’t yet announced any funds.

QUICK HITS

• Where is Inside Safe? The mayor’s signature program to address homelessness went to two locations this week: James M. Wood Boulevard where it passes under the 110 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles, and Beverly Boulevard at Park View Street in Historic Filipinotown. The first location is represented by Councilmembers Kevin de León and Eunisses Hernandez, while the second is represented by Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez.
  
• On the docket for next week: The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors receives a report on Tuesday from its Jail Closure Implementation Team on progress toward closing Men’s Central Jail.