The against Mayor Karen Bass and the city of Los Angeles over sanctuary city policies, claiming they "interfere with the federal government's enforcement of its immigration laws," the department says.

In the the DOJ alleges that days after President Trump won the November 2024 election, the city of LA and its officials worked to "thwart the will of the American people" by beginning to codify sanctuary city policies into law.

The DOJ claims that LA's sanctuary city ordinance, Prohibition of the Use of City Resources for Federal Immigration Enforcement, signed by Bass on Dec. 9, 2024, prevents Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents from carrying out their obligations under federal law.

"Today's lawsuit holds the City of Los Angeles accountable for deliberately obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration law," said U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. "The United States Constitution's Supremacy Clause prohibits the City from picking and choosing which federal laws will be enforced and which will not."

Court documents name the city of Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass, the Los Angeles City Council and Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson as the defendants. CBS Los Angeles has reached out to Bass, Dawson and the city attorney for a comment and is awaiting a response.

The lawsuit adds that the U.S. is currently facing a "crisis of illegal immigration" and claims the government's efforts to address the crisis are "hindered" by LA's sanctuary city policies.   

The lawsuit comes weeks after immigration operations across Southern California began ramping up, prompting demonstrations that mainly started peacefully but escalated into clashes between protestors and law enforcement. As a result, Mr. Trump ordered members of the National Guard and U.S. Marines to deploy to the region.

A section of downtown LA was also affected by the violent demonstrations, including businesses being looted and public property being vandalized. Bass issued a curfew for a portion of downtown, which was lifted seven days after when safety conditions started to improve.