Bill Essayli, a lawyer in the Central District of California, discussed with Breitbart News on Monday that the federal lawsuit previously filed against Los Angeles regarding its “sanctuary city” policies has been delayed for quite some time.
“Los Angeles has been at odds with federal immigration laws, actively discriminating against federal authorities. This lawsuit has been pending for a long time,” Essayli mentioned in his conversation with Breitbart.
Fox News’ Bill Melgin has reported on the lawsuit that the U.S. Department of Justice claims Los Angeles is discriminating against federal law enforcement while excepting their own operations.
Melgin shared a segment from the lawsuit:
Sanctuary city laws and policies are intentionally created to obstruct the federal immigration officials in these areas. The ordinances in Los Angeles actively discriminate against federal authorities by treating them differently than local law enforcement agencies, imposing restrictions on access to property and detainees, as well as treating contractors in a discriminatory manner by not allowing them to find that the City of Los Angeles has not chosen to cooperate. The Advantageous Clause prohibits the city and its officials from providing independence to the federal government on these contested laws and policies. Hence, the laws and policies in question are invalid and should not be allowed.
Los Angeles officially designated itself a “sanctuary city” in November. Earlier in that month, the city council made a unanimous decision to officially adopt this status, although California has operated as a “sanctuary state” for nearly ten years now.
Mayor Karen Bass has been reluctant to collaborate with Federal Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) and may even shield groups that have targeted local and federal law enforcement agencies, suggesting that civil unrest could cease if ICE stops acting against illegal immigrants in the area.
