(The Center Square) – Mayor Karen Bass accused the U.S. Department of Homeland Security of detaining U.S. citizens and chasing after immigrants without criminal history during a press conference Tuesday after the Trump administration sued Los Angeles over its sanctuary city policies.
Bass described the lawsuit, which the U.S. Department of Justice filed Monday, as part of "an all-out assault against Los Angeles." She noted L.A. is a city of immigrants that has had policies protecting them for decades.
In its suit, the U.S. Department of Justice said a Los Angeles sanctuary city ordinance, passed after President Donald Trump's election, impairs federal detention of illegal immigrants, including dangerous criminals. The law blocks city resources from being used for immigration enforcement or cooperation with federal authorities enforcing immigration laws.
Bass responded to the lawsuit at a televised news conference at Los Angeles City Hall, where she was surrounded by other officials and faith leaders. Bass said the city remains committed to "standing up for our constitutional rights and the rights of our residents.
"We will continue to defend our ordinance and policies that reflect our long-standing values of our city," she said.
She noted the city passed the ordinance so that immigrants, who were preyed on by criminals, would feel safe when they report crimes to law enforcement.
Bass also called for an end to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.
“They started talking about hardened criminals and gang members,” Bass said, but later added, “We know the vast majority of people who have been detained and arrested have no criminal history at all.”
Bass said she was "hard pressed" to imagine how hardened criminals could include a recently detained street vendor selling fruit, parents trying to attend their children’s graduations or day laborers whom ICE arrested Monday outside a Home Depot in Los Angeles.
But the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has reported that ICE raids have resulted in arrests of several violent convicted felons, including confirmed gang members and watch-listed suspected terrorists, all of whom are illegal immigrants. Homeland Security said the convictions include murder, pedophilia, fentanyl trafficking, spousal abuse, sexual assault and armed robbery.
The Center Square reached out Tuesday to Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin for comment, but didn’t receive an immediate response.
Bass' comments on Tuesday came as parts of Los Angeles and nearby cities announced they were canceling their Fourth of July celebrations because of concerns over public safety and ICE agents possibly making arrests. The cities include Whittier, Bell Gardens, Cudahy and Huntington Park.
“What the federal government should do is to stay in Washington, remove the troops and not have ICE raids in our city,” Bass told reporters.
In other developments, U.S. officials told CBS Newsthat a military commander has discussed moving some California National Guard troops away from their deployment in Los Angeles to help with the response to Southern California wildfires. The Wolf Fire in Riverside County has grown to over 2,400 acres.
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