The Los Angeles City Council approved an ordinance on Tuesday that will officially make the city a sanctuary city.
According to ABC 7 Los Angeles, the city council voted unanimously, 13-0, to approve the law. It will give protections for undocumented immigrants.
“This law is about making Los Angeles, through law, a sanctuary city and ensuring that all Angelenos can interact with our government without the fear that Donald Trump’s deportation squad is around the corner,” said Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez per LAist.
The city council, NBC Los Angeles reports, wanted to adopt the ordinance before Donald Trump takes office in 2024. Trump has already threatened to use the military to enact mass deportations.
The sanctuary city status cannot completely prevent deportations. According to LAist, it directs city personnel to only cooperate with immigration enforcement under limited circumstances. Under the ordinance, the city of Los Angeles will not use any of its own resources to assist in deportations.
Opponents of the ordinance claim that it will make Los Angeles less safe, but the city council members say they passed it with community safety in mind.
“We recognize the duress many so many members of our community and we don’t have a safer city if people are living in fear and hiding in the shadows and not cooperate with law-enforcement,” said council member Monica Rodriguez, per ABC 7 Los Angeles.
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