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What does it mean to be a “Sanctuary City”?

Posted on 03/11/2023
ICE Out of LA

ONE BIG THING: MAKING LOS ANGELES A TRUE SANCTUARY CITY

Did you know that LA isn’t truly a Sanctuary City? We’re fighting to change that.

What Policies Are Currently in Place?

The Sanctuary City policies we currently have in place come from an Executive Directive that Mayor Eric Garcetti issued in 2017. These include:

  • Preventing city resources from being used for immigration enforcement.
  • Preventing city employees from assisting ICE when the primary purpose is immigration enforcement.
  • Prohibiting city employees from giving immigration authorities special access to city facilities.
  • Preventing city employees from gathering or sharing information about documentation status unless it’s legally required.

What We’re Looking to Do Now

We are looking to enshrine those policies into city law and add additional protections for our undocumented community members, including: 

  • Preventing ICE from accessing city jails to interrogate people.
  • Looking into how the City can prohibit working with companies that compile personal immigration data, which is shared with immigration authorities.

Just like “Executive Orders” issued by Presidents at the federal level, “Executive Directives” can easily be rescinded by any future Mayor who disagrees with them. We can’t leave that door open.

Why it Matters

Sanctuary Cities allow undocumented immigrants to interact with our local government without fear of deportation. 

How can we expect our undocumented neighbors to do anything, from applying for a library card to reporting domestic violence, if they don't have trust in their local government? We want the most vulnerable people in our community to have the confidence that when they are reporting abuses, ICE won't be around the corner.

One More Thing!

International Women’s Day

After celebrating International Women’s Day on Wednesday, we want to uplift the amazing women on our staff.

We're so proud to have an office led by women - including as our Chief of Staff, District Director, Planning Director, Legislative Director, Operations Director, all of our Field Deputies and many more.

CD13 In The News

LA Times: 3 City Council members want a law designating L.A. a ‘sanctuary city’

Univision: Propuesta de ley para Los Ángeles como ciudad santuario: esto debes saber si eres inmigrante indocumentado

Beverly Press: LAPD’s robot dog proposal fetches criticism