LA City Council passes package of motions aimed at protecting immigrant communities
The Los Angeles City Council passed four motions to further protect immigrants' rights and communities throughout the city Wednesday morning.
The motions included efforts for know your rights campaigns, notification of ICE enforcement, support for state legislation and funding for legal services.
The city council's vote to help strengthen immigrants' rights comes as President Trump has vowed to increase mass deportations and crack down on immigration in the U.S. Trump has signed several executive orders relating to immigration since his inauguration to increase military presence at the southern border, end birthright citizenship and shut down many immigration programs enacted by former President Biden.
The motions were authored by Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez and co-signed by several other council members.
Notification of ICE enforcement
The city council voted to pass the motion, which will explore ways to have businesses report ICE activity to the city. The purpose of this motion, written by Soto-Martínez and Padilla, is to inform businesses, employers and workers of their rights ahead of potential immigration enforcement.
It will also incorporate immigrant information into city-required work training and provide immigration information at work centers, the motion said.
Know Your Rights campaigns
The city council voted to pass the motion, which will expand public education resources between city departments to ensure neighborhoods have access to information regarding immigration protections.
The motion said it will also inform individuals about nondiscrimination protections, LA's Sanctuary City policies, community partnerships and multilingual materials.
Support for state legislation
The city council voted to pass the motion, which will urge state and federal officials to increase funding for deportation defense and to reinforce LA's commitment to protecting immigrant communities.
The motion said the additional funding will protect against the separation of families, support rapid response networks and increase resources for immigrants in isolated and rural areas.
Funding for legal services
The city council voted to pass the motion, which will direct the council to identify unused or underutilized funds to help nonprofits provide legal services to immigrant communities.
The motion referred to the Department of Justice's recent move ordering federally funded legal programs helping immigrants to "stop all work." Soto-Martínez and Councilmember Ysabel Jurado said one of President Trump's executive orders directs members of his administration to pause funding for contracts and grants relating to the legal services for undocumented individuals.
