The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously on Nov. 19 to establish Los Angeles as a “Sanctuary City” and prohibit any city resources, including property or personnel, from being utilized for immigration enforcement.

The approved ordinance, based on a motion by Councilmembers Nithya Raman, 4th District; Eunisses Hernandez, 1st District; and Hugo Soto-Martinez, 13th District; comes on the heels of the election of Donald J. Trump, who has expressed broad support for mass deportations across the country.

The city of Los Angeles is home to more than 1.35 million immigrants, comprising over 34% of the city’s population. In fact, a majority of school children in the Los Angeles metro area, including U.S. citizens and non-citizens, have at least one immigrant parent. While the City Council had previously passed a resolution declaring Los Angeles a “City of Sanctuary” in 2017, no sanctuary policies were codified into municipal law. The city’s current relationship with federal immigration agencies is shaped by an executive directive issued by former Mayor Eric Garcetti and internal LAPD policies. The policies are subject to change under future administrations and have yet to be enshrined as permanent protections for Los Angeles immigrants.

The newly adopted ordinance permanently enshrines sanctuary policies into municipal law and prohibits the use of city resources, including property and personnel, from being utilized for immigration enforcement, and prohibits cooperation with federal immigration agents engaged in immigration enforcement. The ordinance also prohibits the direct and indirect sharing of data with federal immigration authorities.

“More than one out of three people who live in Los Angeles, including my own parents, are immigrants. One in 10 are undocumented,” Soto-Martinez said. “We refuse to stand by and let Donald Trump deport our neighbors, family, friends and coworkers.”

“I came to this country with my mother as an immigrant when I was six years old, arriving in the United States because we sought a better life, and I am so grateful for the opportunities this country has given me and my family,” Raman said. “Immigrants make up the very fabric of Los Angeles and they deserve to feel safe and protected in the city they call home, no matter who is in power. Prohibiting the use of city resources for federal immigration enforcement shouldn’t depend only on executive actions that could be overturned by a future mayor or police chief. This is common sense policy for L.A.”

“I am who I am today because of immigrants – people like my parents, extended family and the community who raised me,” Hernandez added. “The same is true for Los Angeles, a city built on the dreams and labor of generations of immigrants. We will not allow hateful rhetoric or destructive policies to tear families apart or dim the light of their contributions. Today, we declare to the nation that Los Angeles thrives because of immigrants, and we are better because of their work and contributions.”