Los Angeles passes 'sanctuary city' ordinance to protect migrants

LOS ANGELES — 

The Los Angeles City Council connected Tuesday unanimously passed a "sanctuary city" ordinance to support immigrants surviving successful the city, a argumentation that would prohibit the usage of metropolis resources and unit to transportation retired national migration enforcement.

The determination by the Southern California city, the 2nd astir populated metropolis successful the U.S. aft New York City, follows President-elect Donald Trump's vow to transportation retired wide deportations of immigrants.

The ordinance codifies the extortion of migrants successful municipal law. Council subordinate Paul Krekorian said the measurement addresses "the request to guarantee that our migrant assemblage present successful Los Angeles understands that we recognize their fear."

Pro-immigrant protesters spoke connected the steps of Los Angeles City Hall earlier the vote, holding up signs saying, "Los Angeles Sanctuary City Now!" They chanted successful Spanish "What bash we want? Sanctuary. When bash we privation it? Now."

The metropolis is location to 1.3 cardinal migrants, assembly members said, without specifying however galore entered the state legally.

"We are highly concerned, fixed that this is simply a metropolis wherever astir a 3rd of the colonisation is immigrants," Shiu-Ming Cheer said astatine the rally. She is lawman manager of migrant and radical justness astatine the California Immigration Policy Center.

People were "afraid that the National Guard oregon different radical are going to beryllium forced to execute Trump's wide deportation plans," she said. "But, you know, we're besides organized."

Eleven states have, to varying degrees, taken steps toward reducing practice with national migration enforcement, according to the non-profit Immigrant Legal Resource Center. Trump, victor of the Nov. 5 election, takes bureau connected Jan. 20.

The Trump modulation squad did not respond to a petition for comment.