The Trump Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles Monday over its sanctuary policies for illegal migrants, arguing that the city has violated the Supremacy Clause by deliberately discriminating against the federal government.
The suit, which was filed in the Central District of California, noted that President Donald Trump "campaigned and won the presidential election on a platform of deporting the millions of illegal immigrants the previous administration permitted, through its open borders policy, to enter the country unlawfully."
The Department of Justice is asking the court to block Los Angeles from enforcing its sanctuary policies, according to the complaint.
The DOJ's case centers on its argument that the city intentionally discriminated against the federal government by treating federal immigration authorities differently than other law enforcement officers.
The sanctuary ordinance in Los Angeles, as well as other city policies, deliberately hinders federal immigration officers' ability to carry out their responsibilities by restricting access to both "property and to individual detainees, by prohibiting contractors and subcontractors from providing information, and by disfavoring federal criminal laws that the City of Los Angeles has decided not to comply with," the suit argues.
"The Supremacy Clause prohibits the City of Los Angeles and its officials from singling out the Federal Government for adverse treatment—as the challenged law and policies do—thereby discriminating against the Federal Government," the government's lawyers write. "Accordingly, the law and policies challenged here are invalid and should be enjoined."
In a statement, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Los Angeles' sanctuary policies "were the driving cause of the violence, chaos, and attacks on law enforcement that Americans recently witnessed."
"Jurisdictions like Los Angeles that flout federal law by prioritizing illegal aliens over American citizens are undermining law enforcement at every level – it ends under President Trump," Bondi told Fox News.
The legal action comes weeks after violent protests over the administration's immigration enforcement efforts erupted in Los Angeles, costing the city nearly $20 million.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.