Judge dismisses DOJ’s lawsuit over LA’s sanctuary laws
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit from the Justice Department challenging Los Angeles’s sanctuary city policies, ruling in favor of the city. The DOJ had argued that the Los Angeles ordinance, which prevents city resources and personnel from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement, violated federal law.Though, Judge Fernando M. Olguin found that the ordinance does not directly regulate the federal government but instead restricts city agents, and that federal law does not preempt such local measures. The ruling permits LA departments, including the police, to continue their policies.The DOJ has untill July 3 to file an amended complaint, but the judge’s decision emphasizes local authority over immigration enforcement policies, highlighting the city’s intent to make all residents feel safe nonetheless of immigration status. The LA City Attorney praised the ruling, reaffirming that the ordinance aims to encourage crime victims and witnesses to come forward without fear, without obstructing federal enforcement.
A federal judge rejected the Justice Department’s lawsuit challenging Los Angeles’s sanctuary city policies, marking a blow for the Trump administration’s operations in California’s largest city.
U.S. District Judge Fernando M. Olguin handed down a ruling over the weekend, weighing in on a 2024 ordinance that prohibits city resources, property, and personnel from cooperating with federal immigration authorities or sharing information about an individual’s immigration status. The DOJ sued to block the ordinance last year, but Olguin agreed with the city’s motion to dismiss the complaint, allowing city departments, including the Los Angeles Police Department, to continue operating under the policies.
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“The Ordinance does not directly regulate the federal government,” Olguin, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, wrote in his ruling. “Rather, it ‘controls the actions of [the City’s] own agents and agencies.’”
The Trump administration has until July 3 to file an amended complaint.
The DOJ believes federal law preempts the Los Angeles ordinance called “Prohibition of the Use of City Resources for Federal Immigration Enforcement.” It filed the lawsuit against the city in July 2025, arguing that the ordinance helped lead to chaos in the area that broke out during the Trump administration’s immigration raids.
“The practical upshot of Los Angeles’ refusal to cooperate with federal immigration authorities has, since June 6, 2025, been lawlessness, rioting, looting, and vandalism. The situation became so dire that the Federal Government deployed the California National Guard and United States Marines to quell the chaos,” the DOJ alleged.
However, Olguin ruled that the government’s allegations were “insufficient to establish that the ordinance violates the intergovernmental immunity doctrine.” He concluded that federal law simply states that no cooperation agreement is required for state or local officials to communicate or cooperate with the government on certain immigration enforcement matters.
The ordinance “merely restricts a city employee from inquiring into or collecting information about a person’s citizenship or immigration status” and “says nothing about the city’s ability to maintain or share such information,” he wrote.
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Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto celebrated the ruling on Monday.
“This order reinforces the well-established principle that local governments have the authority to decide how to use their personnel and resources,” she said. “The goal of this ordinance…. is to encourage victims of and witnesses to crime to feel safe coming forward to seek help from LAPD regardless of their immigration status. It does not obstruct or impede lawful federal immigration enforcement operations.”
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