A California federal court has dealt the Trump administration another legal setback in its campaign against sanctuary city policies, tossing out a Justice Department lawsuit that targeted Los Angeles' ordinance restricting local cooperation with immigration enforcement. U.S. District Judge Fernando M. Olguin, sitting in the Central District of California, granted Los Angeles' motion to dismiss on Saturday.
At the heart of the ordinance — proposed in early 2023 and formally adopted following Donald Trump's November 2024 election win — is a prohibition on city employees and city property being used to "investigate, cite, arrest, hold, transfer or detain any person" for immigration enforcement purposes, with a carve-out for law enforcement handling serious crimes. The measure also bars city workers from seeking out information about a person's citizenship or immigration status unless that information is necessary to deliver a city service, and mandates that any data capable of revealing someone's status be kept confidential.
The Justice Department, which filed the suit last June, contended that by blocking city resources from supporting federal immigration operations or the collection of citizenship data, Los Angeles had run afoul of federal law. Specifically, government lawyers argued the ordinance "singles out the Federal Government for adverse treatment" and "discriminates against the Federal Government" in breach of the Supremacy Clause.
Judge Olguin was unconvinced. His ruling held that the measure "controls the actions of the city's own agents and agencies" rather than placing any direct burden on Washington. "The Ordinance does not directly regulate the federal government," Olguin wrote. "Rather, it 'controls the actions of [the City's] own agents and agencies.'" The judge left the door open for the administration to file an amended complaint, setting a deadline of July 3.
Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto framed the outcome as a reaffirmation of municipal 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 goal of this ordinance, and of LAPD's immigration-related policies – which date back to special order 40 in the 1970s – is to encourage victims of and witnesses to crime to feel safe coming forward to seek help from LAPD regardless of their immigration status. It does not obstruct or impede lawful federal immigration enforcement operations."
Mayor Karen Bass was equally emphatic, saying the decision "affirms the righteousness of our commitment to protect immigrants and all Angelenos from the Administration's attacks on every front. We know they could appeal, and we will be ready. We will always fight back when anyone attacks L.A."
The lawsuit was filed during a period of heightened tension between the city and federal authorities, arriving weeks after the president sent troops to Los Angeles to suppress protests against deportation operations while immigration agents were conducting sweeps across Southern California. The administration's complaint characterized the nation as "facing a crisis of illegal immigration" and accused "Sanctuary Cities such as the City of Los Angeles" of undermining federal efforts by refusing "to cooperate or share information, even when requested, with federal immigration authorities."
Saturday's ruling follows similar dismissals of administration lawsuits targeting sanctuary policies in Boston and Chicago. The White House and the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Informational content only, not legal advice. Consult a licensed immigration attorney.