Los Angeles (LA) District Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto announced There was a “legal victory” for the city on Sunday, declaring that a federal judge had dismissed a lawsuit by President Donald Trump’s administration over its sanctuary city ordinance.
Feldstein Soto stated, “This order reaffirms the time-honored principle that local governments have the authority to decide how to deploy their personnel and resources.”
The VerdictThe law, issued over the weekend by U.S. District Judge Fernando Olguin, rejects the government’s claims that the ordinance violates the doctrine of interstate immunity, noting that the city’s policy is not expressly preempted by federal immigration law, allowing the ordinance to remain in effect.
In December 2024, LA Mayor Karen Bass signed the “Prohibition on Using City Resources for Federal Immigration Enforcement.” Regulationalso known as the “Sanctuary City” ordinance. The policy prohibits L.A. resources and personnel from cooperating with federal immigration authorities by inquiring about a citizen’s immigration status or providing access to city data to determine a person’s citizenship status. Feldstein Soto noted in her statement that the purpose of the order is to encourage victims or witnesses of crimes to contact the LAPD regardless of their citizenship status, and not to impede or complicate lawful federal immigration enforcement.
The Trump administration sued L.A. officials and the city as a whole in June 2025 over the legality of the ordinance Mass protests which took place in the city and protested against Trump’s mass deportation policies and the subsequent deployment of the federal government’s National Guard to combat and suppress protests.
In hers ComplaintThe federal government claimed that the regulation violated the law interstate immunities Doctrine through “regulation and discrimination” of the federal government and was anticipated by federal law.
Olguin noted in his ruling that the government failed to plausibly allege a violation of intergovernmental immunity because the ordinance controls the actions of city officials and does not regulate the federal government. Furthermore, the express preemption argument did not convince him because the ordinance prevents city officials from inquiring about a person’s immigration status but says nothing about the official’s ability to cooperate with federal agents by managing or sharing the information.
The federal government has until July 3, 2026 to file an amended complaint to correct any deficiencies in its complaint. Independent city officials like Mayor Bass were dismissed from the lawsuit with prejudice, leaving the city as the sole defendant should the government refile its lawsuit.
The suit is part of a larger one Movement by the Trump administration to crack down and restrict Sanctuary City Policy as part of immigration reform. The government has similarly lost lawsuits Boston And Illinois.
