The Trump administration filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles on Monday, accusing it of violating the U.S. Constitution through its sanctuary city policies that obstruct federal immigration enforcement.
The lawsuit comes in the wake of violent anti-ICE riots that broke out in Los Angeles County earlier this month, during which law enforcement officers were assaulted, police vehicles torched, and federal property targeted. The Department of Justice argues that the city’s sanctuary policies played a direct role in fueling the unrest.
“Sanctuary policies were the driving cause of the violence, chaos, and attacks on law enforcement that Americans recently witnessed in Los Angeles,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “Jurisdictions like Los Angeles that flout federal law by prioritizing illegal aliens over American citizens are undermining law enforcement at every level – it ends under President Trump.”
The lawsuit challenges city laws that prohibit local officials from cooperating with or using city resources to assist federal immigration authorities. It names Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, the City Council, and Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson as defendants.
According to the suit, “The Supremacy Clause prohibits the City of Los Angeles and its officials from singling out the Federal Government for adverse treatment… Accordingly, the law and policies challenged here are invalid and should be enjoined.”
The Los Angeles City Council declared the city a sanctuary jurisdiction shortly after President Trump’s 2024 re-election. Since then, the administration argues, the city has increasingly defied federal immigration law, culminating in last week’s riots following ICE’s arrests of illegal aliens in the area.
In response to the chaos, Trump deployed both the U.S. Marines and the National Guard to secure federal buildings and assist local law enforcement — a move praised by supporters and criticized by progressive officials in California.
U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli echoed Bondi’s sentiments, saying, “The Constitution’s Supremacy Clause prohibits the City from picking and choosing which federal laws will be enforced. By assisting removable aliens in evading federal law enforcement, the City’s unlawful and discriminatory ordinance has contributed to a lawless and unsafe environment that this lawsuit will help end.”
Dozens of rioters have been arrested and charged at the state and federal levels, with officials vowing to pursue additional prosecutions. The White House says it will continue targeting sanctuary policies nationwide.
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