A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration seeking to block what it called an “illegal” LA city ordinance.
In a ruling over the weekend, US District Judge Fernando M. Olguin granted the city’s motion to dismiss the complaint, alleging that the city’s ordinance violates the federal government’s preemption doctrine.
Olguin ruled that the government’s allegations were “insufficient to establish that the Ordinance violates the doctrine of government immunity,” but granted the administration leave to file an amended complaint on July 3.
“The Ordinance does not directly control the federal government,” Olguin said in his ruling. Rather, it ‘controls the actions of [the City’s] embassies and agencies.’”
The White House and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Although the administration may file their appeal, LA City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto celebrated the dismissal as a legal victory.
“This order reinforces the established principle that local governments have the authority to decide how to use their workers and resources,” said Feldstein Soto in a statement.
LA Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement that the decision “reaffirms our commitment to protect immigrants and all Angelenos from attacks by the Administration on all fronts. We know they can appeal, and we will be ready. We will always fight back when anyone attacks LA.”
The lawsuit, filed by the Trump administration in California’s Central District federal court last June, said the country is “facing an illegal immigration problem” and that its efforts to deal with it are “being hindered by Sanctuary Cities like the City of Los Angeles, which refuse to cooperate or share information, even when requested, with immigration authorities.”
The case came as immigration agents descended on Southern California, arresting thousands of immigrants and sparking protests across the state.
“The situation became so dire that the Federal Government sent in the California National Guard and the United States Marines to quell the chaos,” the lawsuit said. “Direct confrontation with immigration authorities was an inevitable consequence of the Sanctuary City ordinance.”
This law was proposed in early 2023, long before Trump’s election, but was finalized after his victory in November 2024.
Under the law, city employees and city property may not be used to “investigate, cite, arrest, detain, transfer or detain any person” for the purpose of immigration enforcement. Law enforcement officers who investigate serious cases have been set aside.
The ordinance prohibits city employees from seeking information about a person’s citizenship or immigration status unless necessary to provide a city service. They must also treat data or information that can be used to track a person’s citizenship or immigration status as confidential.
“The purpose of this law, and the LAPD’s immigration-related policies … is to encourage victims and witnesses of crime to feel safe to seek help from the LAPD regardless of their immigration status,” Feldstein Soto said in a statement. “It does not prevent or impede lawful immigration enforcement activities.”
The government said in its first letter that Trump campaigned and won the 2024 presidential election on the premise of deporting “millions of illegal immigrants.” By enacting the sanctuary city ordinance, the City Council attempted to “thwart the will of the American people regarding deportation,” the lawsuit said.
“The Supremacy Clause prevents 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 lawsuit states.
Trump’s Justice Department argues that LA’s city law goes further than similar laws in other areas by “seeking to undermine the Federal Government’s efforts to enforce immigration.”
