There are an estimated 900,000 unauthorized immigrants living in Los Angeles.
A bill to write legislation to “permanently entrench sanctuary policy into city law” was submitted on Tuesday by the Los Angeles City Council.
Three council members, Nithya Raman, Hugo Soto-Martinez, and Eunisses Hernandez, put forth the motion.
“Today, I stood with @cd4losangeles and @cd13losangeles to propose legislation to establish an ordinance to permanently place sanctuary policy into city law so that municipal resources, property, or people are never misused by or for ICE,” Hernandez tweeted.
“Being the proud offspring of immigrants, I have seen personally how immigration has shaped Los Angeles into the dynamic and multiethnic metropolis that it is today. The illegal immigrants living in our city require additional protection if we are to keep them secure “She said.
“Los Angeles is home to people from many walks of life thanks to decades of international immigration. There shouldn’t be a reliance on administrative decisions that may be changed by a new administration before federal funding for local immigration enforcement is released. These essential safety measures should be written into law.” Raman expressed his ideas through tweets.
According to Fox 11 Los Angeles, the legislation would give municipal officials the directive to develop an ordinance formalizing a 2017 ruling that forbids the use of public resources, property, or persons for federal immigration enforcement.
Supposedly, the motion would also instruct the city to stop inquiring about or collecting information about a person’s immigration status, to cease investigating or enforcing laws related to a person’s immigration status, to not grant immigration authorities access to any private areas without a warrant, and to deny federal immigration authorities access to city databases or any person’s personal information or other data.
The broadcaster claims that since 1979, the Los Angeles Police Department has forbidden its employees from participating in immigration enforcement. It is illegal for them to engage in conversation with anyone based on that person’s immigration status, and they need a federal warrant to enter a jail or communicate with an inmate.
As reported by the Los Angeles Times, the “city of sanctuary” resolution passed by the City Council was just symbolic and did not offer any legal protections.
Hernandez said in a statement that local law enforcement agencies are permitted to hand over detainees to ICE “even when court warrants are not issued,” and that ICE agents have access to local institutions for questioning.
The LAPD was contacted by Fox News Digital for comment, but no one there was available to talk right now.
Almost 10% of the more than 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States are estimated to live in Los Angeles and Orange counties, according to the Pew Research Center.