Trump Admin Hits Los Angeles With Lawsuit After Violent Anti-ICE Riots

The Trump administration sued the city of Los Angeles on Monday, accusing the city of violating the Constitution with “sanctuary city” policies that impede federal immigration enforcement.

The Justice Department said in a lawsuit that the city’s policy prohibiting any city resources from being used for federal immigration actions violates the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution. The DOJ argued that the city’s policies contributed to the anti-ICE riots that rocked Los Angeles County earlier this month as law enforcement officers were attacked and vehicles were burned.

“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. “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.”

Shortly after Trump was elected in November, the Los Angeles City Council voted to officially designate itself as a sanctuary city. These policies prevent the city from working with or sharing information with federal immigration authorities.

“The Supremacy Clause prohibits the City of Los Angeles and its officials from singling out the Federal Government for adverse treatment — as the challenged law and policies do — thereby discriminating against the Federal Government,” the lawsuit says. “Accordingly, the law and policies challenged here are invalid and should be enjoined.”

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The suit names Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, the Los Angeles City Council, and Los Angeles City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson.

Dozens of people were federally or locally charged earlier this month after riots broke out in response to ICE conducting arrests in Los Angeles County. President Donald Trump sent in the Marines and the National Guard to protect federal personnel and property in response to the riots.

“Today’s lawsuit holds the City of Los Angeles accountable for deliberately obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration law,” said U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “The United States Constitution’s Supremacy Clause prohibits the City from picking and choosing which federal laws will be enforced and which will not. 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.”