Los Angeles rushes to protect illegal aliens in defiance of Trump's mass deportation plan



In anticipation of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration in January, the Los Angeles City Council rushed to approve a "sanctuary city" ordinance on Tuesday.

The city council passed the measure in a unanimous vote, with council member Hugo Soto-Martinez (D) calling it "a very clear message" that the city refuses to "cooperate with ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] in any way."

'That's not in the interest of public safety in Los Angeles or California.'

"We want people to feel protected and be able to have faith in their government and that women can report domestic violence, crimes," Soto-Martinez said.

Before the ordinance is enacted, the city council will vote on it one last time. Mayor Karen Bass (D) has the authority to veto the measure but has already been vocal about her support, the Associated Press reported.

"This moment demands urgency. Immigrant protections make our communities stronger and our city better," Bass said.

The news outlet noted that it remains to be seen whether the newly passed ordinance will have any significant impact, given that the Los Angeles Police Department has for decades adhered to Special Order 40, a policy that prevents officers from asking about immigration status or making arrests based on an individual's immigration status.

Additionally, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell has vowed to protect illegal aliens. He told KTTV this week that he can guarantee that his department will not be working with ICE to detain foreign nationals who are unlawfully in the country.

"That's not in our interest to do that. That's not in the interest of public safety in Los Angeles or California," McDonnell claimed.

The state also has sanctuary policies in place to shield illegal immigrants from deportation efforts.

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) stated last week that he and other state leaders are working to "Trump-proof" the state.

State Attorney General Rob Bonta said, "I can promise to the undocumented immigrant community in California that I and my team have been thinking about you for months and the harm that might come from the Trump administration 2.0. We'll do everything in our power and use the full authority of our office to defend you."

Tom Homan, the incoming border czar for the Trump administration, has committed to deploying additional ICE agents to sanctuary jurisdictions, aiming to expedite the deportation of criminal illegal immigrants with or without local authorities' cooperation.

"If they're not gonna help us, then we'll just double the manpower in those cities. They don't want ICE agents in their neighborhoods, but they don't let ICE agents in the jail. They don't understand, if you let us in the jail, that'd be less agents in your neighborhood," Homan told "Fox News Live" on Saturday.

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Chaos erupts at Los Angeles City Council as lawmakers vote to ban homeless encampments near schools



Chaos erupted at a Los Angeles City Council meeting on Tuesday when protesters broke through a security barricade and accosted lawmakers, who voted to ban homeless encampments near schools.

Three police officers were injured and more than 100 people were ordered to disperse from the city council chambers during a skirmish between activists and police, the Los Angeles Police Department said. One person was arrested for taking a person from lawful custody of a police officer and resisting arrest.

Councilman Paul Krekorian described the protest as an "attack" that included verbal threats against lawmakers, Fox News reported.

"In yet another attack on constitutional democracy, for the second time in a week, a small mob of extremists today again shut down a public meeting of the City Council," Krekorian said. "In the process, they breached a security barrier, physically threatened the Council, and attacked police officers. One of them was arrested two feet from my desk."

The incident occurred when dozens of demonstrators showed up for public comments ahead of a city council vote to ban homeless encampments within 500 feet of school and day-care centers. Council members voted 11-3 to approve the ordinance, expanding a law that also prohibits homeless encampments near libraries, freeway overpasses, and other locations.

Supporters of the ordinance say it is necessary for the safety of children, especially those who walk to school and have to pass encampments where drug use, sexual activity, and mental illness are rampant.

"Our students are already traumatized with social-economic issues," Councilman Joe Buscaino said. "They should not be exposed to sex acts. They should not be exposed to open drug use. They should not be exposed to psychotic behavior."

Protesters and homelessness activists have decried the law as an attack on the "unhoused." They argue that nearly 20% of the city would be sectioned off by banning encampments near schools and that lawmakers should instead provide more permanent housing to decrease encampments, according to KCBS-TV.

Demonstrators had previously disrupted a city council meeting on Aug. 2 where lawmakers held an initial vote on the ordinance.

"Enforcement of anti-camping ordinances, then, only displaces people and makes it harder for trained outreach staff to establish trust again. Residents of cleared encampments, unless connected to stable permanent housing through a trauma-informed case management process, often return to unsheltered homelessness," the nonprofit group People Assisting the Homeless said in a statement.

The Los Angeles Times reports Tuesday's meeting was contentious from the start. Members of the public shouted expletives at council members as they entered the room. When council President Nury Martinez told the audience to "grow up," they jeered back at him. And people booed when Councilman Curren Price attempted to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

Police were involved when an audience member, described as a black female, climbed over a bench and approached the city council dais, hurling expletives at lawmakers. The suspect "charged" toward Martinez and was detained by officers, police said.

While officers were attempting to detain the suspect, another individual from the crowd "intervened" to assist her. Several members of the audience then surrounded the police officers attempting to detain the first suspect, who managed to flee the location. The intervening audience member was identified as Ricci Sergienko and was arrested, police said.

Video shared by Spectrum News 1 reporter Kate Cagle shows protesters shouting "let her go" as officers detain the first suspect, who appeared to be resisting arrest. Someone repeatedly calls the officers "cockroaches."

A white woman wearing a face mask can be seen pulling the detained woman away from the police, causing a scuffle.

\u201cBREAKING: Los Angeles City Council has been disrupted again and two people detained ahead of the final vote to expand 41.18 no camping zones to all schools and daycares.\u201d
— Kate Cagle (@Kate Cagle) 1660068309

"Let her go you f***ing pig!" someone shouts at the officers. Others shout "shame on you" and other expletives.

An unlawful assembly was declared after the altercation, and the city council went into recess. LAPD officers wearing riot gear reportedly cleared the chamber.

\u201cCrowd is staying and chanting. All of City Council left except for Councilmembers Raman, Harris-Dawson, and Bonin (who have previously voted against the expansion of 41.18). LAPD also lining the side of City Council chambers\u201d
— Jon peltz (@Jon peltz) 1660067363

Lawmakers returned once the chamber was cleared and passed the ordinance. The new restrictions will prevent people from sitting, sleeping, lying on, or storing property within 500 feet of every public and private school.

"There can never be any excuse or rationalization for this kind of anarchic lawlessness," Krekorian said. "The people of our nation cannot tolerate raging extremists entering public buildings and threatening public officials with the intent to shut down the government, no matter what their viewpoints may be."

"Every Angeleno should be outraged by what happened today in their City Hall. Anyone who seeks to be a leader in this city must actively denounce this kind of nonsense in clear and unambiguous terms," he added.

Los Angeles City Council unanimously votes to create 'unarmed response' teams to answer 'nonviolent' 911 calls instead of cops



The Los Angeles City Council voted 14-0 Wednesday to establish unarmed crisis response teams that would answer nonviolent 911 calls instead of police, KTTV-TV reported.

What are the details?

"Today marks a seminal moment in our City's history in our efforts to reimagine public safety," Council President Nury Martinez said in a press release, according to the station. "Through this unarmed response pilot for non-violent calls, we will help Angelenos get the mental health and other support services they need from trained professionals. We will also free up police officers to do the work they are trained to do. Ultimately, this will also allow us to provide our Black and Brown communities with the resources they deserve."

The vote comes in response to the "defund the police" movement sparked by George Floyd's death in May.

"Calling the police on George Floyd about an alleged counterfeit $20 bill ended his life," longtime Councilmember Herb J. Wesson, Jr. said, according to KTTV. "If George Floyd had been met with unarmed, trained specialists for the nonviolent crime he was accused of, he would be turning 47 years old today. This plan will save lives, and I'm so proud of my colleagues on the Council for voting to move this forward."

What kinds of calls would the response team answer?

The station, citing the press release, said the kinds of calls the unarmed response team would answer include mental health, substance abuse, suicide threats, behavioral distress, conflict resolution, and welfare checks.

Anything else?

Sgt. Jeretta Sandoz of the Los Angeles Police Protective League told KTTV that she's skeptical of the idea, since it's based on a program in Eugene, Oregon — and Eugene is not Los Angeles.

Sandoz told the station that the Eugene program "serves a population of under 250,000, and that includes 83 percent white and almost all English-speaking."

KTTV also said it isn't clear how much the unarmed response teams program would cost or who would be in charge.