Los Angeles City and County Sue Over Trump’s Threatened Crackdown On Sanctuaries; 3 Cities – But Not Pasadena – Join Suit

Los Angeles County and the city of Los Angeles has joined 34 other jurisdictions that filed a court brief Wednesday opposing President Donald Trump’s executive order that threatens to withhold federal funds from “sanctuary jurisdictions.”

The City of Pasadena has not joined the lawsuit.

The amicus brief was filed in federal court in San Francisco in support of the city’s pending lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Trump’s proposed crackdown on sanctuary cities. Another brief was filed last week by many of the same jurisdictions in a similar lawsuit filed by Santa Clara County.

The filers argued that withholding funding from their jurisdictions would threaten public health and safety.

The brief noted that forcing local law enforcement agencies to become the instruments of federal immigration agencies would discourage cooperation between immigrants and police, because victims or witnesses of crimes would choose not to come forward for fear of deportation.

Speaking for the filers, lawyer Kelly Dermody said the jurisdictions are joining together “to stand up for the health and safety of their communities and oppose President Trump’s ill-conceived and unconstitutional executive order.”

In January, Trump signed an order threatening a crackdown on cities that fail to report arrests of people potentially subject to deportation. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday said local jurisdictions seeking federal Department of Justice grants must first demonstrate they are not sanctuary cities.

Last Monday, March, 27, the Pasadena City Council discussed proposals to declare the City as a “sanctuary jurisdiction” but fell short of endorsing such a declaration.

Ultimately the Council approved the City’s federal and state legislative platforms for 2017, both of which emphasize a humane and just immigration policy that the City has been espousing over the past several years.

The Pasadena City Council did unanimously pass an official resolution that evening which declared that “The City of Pasadena will not enforce federal immigration laws and the City Manager will ensure that all city policies are consistent with this declaration.”

The resolution added that “the City Manager will ensure that the Pasadena Police Department maintains an immigration policy that is consistent with proposed policy 428 and the provisions of this resolution.” Policy 428 reiterates that Pasadena Police do not investigate and prosecute violations of federal immigration laws.

Though the resolution did not use the term “Sanctuary City,” a term with debatable legal status, Mayor Terry Tornek assured the packed City Council chamber that the resolution was a “gesture of good faith.”

“The politics of fear will not be practiced here,” said Tornek, following the vote.