Los Angeles County and several cities in the region on Tuesday took legal action to try to stop federal immigration enforcement operations that have continued for over a month.
The county and city of LA along with Pasadena, Monterey Park, Montebello, Pico Rivera, Santa Monica, Culver City and West Hollywood filed a motion to intervene in the Vasquez Perdomo et al. v. Noem et al. lawsuit. Brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, the proposed class-action “seeks to stop the federal government from engaging in aggressive and dangerous immigration enforcement practices in … the Los Angeles area,” according to a statement from the city of Pasadena.
The ACLU suit against the federal government is on behalf of people who claim federal agents illegally stopped or detained them. According to the lawsuit’s complaint document filed with the federal court in California’s Central District, federal agencies including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection have conducted unconstitutional, unlawful immigration raids by targeting people based on their perceived race or ethnicity to choose who to stop and conducting stops without probable cause, warrantless home raids and illegal worksite raids.
Mayor Karen Bass said the Trump administration “is treating Los Angeles as a test case for how far it can go in driving its political agenda forward while pushing the Constitution aside. The city of Los Angeles, along with the county, cities, organizations and Angelenos across LA, is taking the administration to court to stop its clear violation of the United States Constitution and federal law.
“We will not be intimidated — we are making Los Angeles the example of how people who believe in American values will stand together and stand united,” Bass said in a statement Tuesday.
“The federal government has concentrated thousands of armed immigration agents, many of whom lack visible identification, and military troops in our communities, conducting unconstitutional raids, roundups and anonymous detentions, sowing fear and chaos among our residents,” LA City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto said in a statement. “Today’s motion to intervene shows we will not stand by and allow these raids to continue or to become the standard operating procedure in our communities.”
The Department of Homeland Security has denied the lawsuit’s allegations.
“Claims that individuals have been ‘targeted’ by law enforcement because of their skin color are disgusting and categorically FALSE,” according to an agency social media post. “DHS enforcement operations are highly targeted, and officers do their due diligence.”
DHS previously stated, “ICE detention facilities have higher standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens. These types of smears are designed to demonize and villainize our brave ICE law enforcement. This garbage has directly led to a nearly 700 percent increase in the assaults on ICE law enforcement officers.”
A statement Tuesday from White House said immigration enforcement would continue.
“The brave men and women of ICE are under siege by deranged Democrats — but undeterred in their mission,” the White House said in a statement. “Every day, these heroes put their own lives on the line to get the worst of the worst — criminal illegal immigrant killers, rapists, gangbangers, and other violent criminals — off our streets and out of our neighborhoods.”
LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis announced the county’s presence in the legal action Tuesday.
“Families across our communities are living in fear,” Solis said in a statement. “People are skipping medical appointments, avoiding public places, and staying home because they worry that seeking help might put them or their loved ones at risk. This motion is about taking steps to protect access to essential care and services for everyone, regardless of their immigration status. We cannot let fear prevent people from getting the health care or support they need.”
A statement from Pasadena officials read:
“In recent weeks, Pasadena has experienced an unprecedented increase in aggressive federal immigration enforcement activity, which has spread fear, confusion and distress among Pasadena residents, including those who have lived in the city for decades and even among U.S. citizens. The federal government’s unannounced actions have hindered local businesses, as customers and business owners — including U.S. citizens — choose to stay home out of fear of being arbitrarily detained or even arrested.
“Similarly, the Pasadena Police Department has been forced to divert limited local resources to determine whether individuals exiting unmarked vehicles are armed, masked, unidentified federal law enforcement agents or armed, masked, unidentified vigilantes,” the statement continued. “Pasadena joined with others today in litigation calling for the federal government to stop employing these aggressive and dangerous tactics which we believe are improper and unconstitutional.”
Tuesday’s legal action was a day after federal agents and federalized National Guard troops deployed to MacArthur Park as children were attending a summer camp, according to Bass’ office.
