The Justice Department filed suit Monday against the City of Los Angeles, marking the Trump administration’s latest legal salvo in its long-running battle with so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions. Led by Attorney General Pam Bondi, the lawsuit accuses Los Angeles of willfully obstructing federal immigration enforcement by adopting ordinances that prohibit local cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“Sanctuary policies were the driving cause of the violence, chaos, and attacks on law enforcement that Americans recently witnessed in Los Angeles,” Bondi said. “Jurisdictions like Los Angeles that flout federal law by prioritizing illegal aliens over American citizens are undermining law enforcement at every level—this ends under President Trump.”
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Los Angeles becomes the fourth major city targeted by the administration: similar suits have already been filed against Chicago, Denver and Rochester, New York. Federal officials allege the city’s policies, including bans on honoring ICE detainer requests and restrictions on information sharing, violate the Immigration and Nationality Act—which bars state or local laws that impede federal immigration operations.
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Mayor Karen Bass, who last month oversaw a weeks-long wave of anti-ICE protests and clashes following expanded immigration raids, has not yet publicly responded. City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto criticized the lawsuit in a statement: “This is a politically motivated attack on local democracy and public safety. Los Angeles will vigorously defend our ordinances, which protect vulnerable residents and foster trust between immigrant communities and police.”
In mid-June, following several nights of street violence and property damage targeting ICE offices, President Trump deployed the California National Guard to Los Angeles. He later authorized U.S. Marines to secure federal buildings, including the Wilshire Federal Building downtown. Both actions underscored the administration’s portrayal of sanctuary policies as threats to public order.
During a Tuesday press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated that Los Angeles’s sanctuary ordinances hamstring federal agents and invite “violent criminals” to exploit local protections. “When you have illegal murderers and rapists and heinous criminals in a detention facility surrounded by alligators, yes, I do think that’s a deterrent,” Leavitt quipped—an apparent reference to the administration’s proposed “Alligator Alcatraz” migrant holding camp in the Everglades.
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Congressional Republicans have largely applauded the lawsuit. Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) called Los Angeles’s policies “reckless” in heightening crime and undermining the rule of law. “Local officials cannot pick and choose which federal statutes they will obey,” Cotton said in a statement.
Democrats, meanwhile, denounced the suit as yet another example of the White House overreach. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) accused the administration of “using the courts to wage a culture war on cities that prioritize public safety and community trust.”
Legal analysts expect the case to hinge on judicial interpretations of federal supremacy and the extent to which local governments may regulate cooperation with immigration authorities. A federal judge must now decide whether Los Angeles’s ordinances directly conflict with existing immigration statutes—a ruling that could reshape the national sanctuary city debate as the 2026 midterms approach.
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