A federal judge in California has thrown out the Trump administration's legal challenge to Los Angeles' restrictions on local police cooperation with immigration enforcement, dealing a setback to efforts to dismantle sanctuary city policies across Democratic-led jurisdictions.
Judge Fernando Olguin of the central California US district court rejected the administration's core argument that the city ordinance violated the Constitution. While he allowed the administration to file a revised complaint, the initial dismissal signals trouble for the federal case.
Los Angeles' policy, rooted in a decades-old order first adopted in the 1970s, bars local police and city resources from assisting federal immigration operations or collecting citizenship information. The city framed the ordinance as essential to protecting crime victims and witnesses who fear deportation.
City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto hailed the ruling as validation of local government authority. "This order reinforces the well-established principle that local governments have the authority to decide how to use their personnel and resources," she said in a statement. The ordinance, she emphasized, was designed to encourage immigrants to report crimes without fear of immigration consequences.
The Trump administration filed the lawsuit last June, arguing that Los Angeles had illegally barred its resources from being used to support federal immigration enforcement. The timing was notable: the filing came weeks after the administration deployed additional troops to the city during unrest surrounding deportation operations.
Olguin's ruling distinguished between the city regulating its own agencies versus unconstitutionally attempting to regulate federal government conduct. The ordinance, he found, controlled only the actions of local agents.
The dismissal adds to a pattern of judicial resistance to similar White House litigation. Federal judges have already rejected administration lawsuits challenging sanctuary policies in Boston and Chicago, suggesting courts may view these challenges as constitutionally weak on the merits.
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the decision.
Author James Rodriguez: "This ruling won't kill the legal fight, but it shows judges aren't buying the administration's constitutional theory on sanctuary cities."
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