Committee approves guidance and training plan to implement sanctuary ordinance, asks departments to report back in 30 days

The Civil Rights, Equity, Immigration, Aging and Disabilities Committee voted to approve the Office of the Chief Legislative Analyst's (CLA) recommendations to update city guidance, require departmental immigration liaisons and create an online training program to implement the city's sanctuary ordinance, and amended the motion to require a 30-day progress report from departments.

The action follows extensive public comment from immigrant-rights advocates and others who urged clearer protections and expressed concern about information-sharing practices that they said could expose undocumented residents to federal immigration enforcement. Councilmember Hugo Soto-Mart'5, who chaired the meeting, moved the recommendation; Member Jurado seconded. The motion passed 3-0 with Councilmember Padilla also voting in favor; two members were recorded absent.

Why it matters: Committee members and public commentators said the city's existing guidance needs updating to reflect recent federal-level changes and to restore public trust. Advocates pressed the committee for clearer, enforceable steps to limit municipal sharing of information that could be used for immigration enforcement, and for a timeline to implement training and reporting.

In presenting the CLA report, Chris Espinoza of the CLA said the office coordinated with the CAO and the mayor's staff to draft citywide guidance and that the CLA recommends a package of steps including a standardized training module for employees, identification of an 'immigration liaison' in each department, model contract language and a uniform incident-reporting form. Espinoza described plans for an online training course and a cross-departmental advisory team to answer compliance questions.

Multiple public speakers told the committee that existing police programs for reporting 'suspicious activity' and data-sharing practices undermine the intent of the sanctuary ordinance. One speaker said, '—Si no, vamos a seguir con muchos fallos que deja expuestos a muchos de nuestros miembros de la comunidad.—' (If not, we will continue with many failures that leave many of our community members exposed.)' That comment and others underlined community requests that the city stop any local practices that could feed federal immigration databases.

Los Angeles Police Department Commander Hurtado answered questions about LAPD cooperation with federal partners. He said LAPD will respond to federal requests when required by a federal court order for a violent offender, describing a recent incident in which officers assisted after a judge-signed warrant was issued. He told the committee the department does not maintain a searchable database of residents for federal agencies and that local response hinges on the legal basis of federal requests.

Committee discussion focused on operationalizing the ordinance: members asked how the online training would reach the city's roughly 50,000 employees, how departmental liaisons would be designated and resourced, and what standardized incident-tracking would look like. Espinoza said the CLA and personnel office are developing a virtual training platform and a cross-departmental team to field questions; the committee asked that departments be required to report progress on recommendations one through five within 30 days.

Formal action: The committee approved the CLA's recommendations one through five with an amendment requiring departments to report back on implementation within 30 days. Vote record as read into the record: Councilmember Hugo Soto-Mart'5, yes; Member Jurado, yes; Member Padilla, yes. Two members were recorded absent. The tally recorded three yes, zero no, zero abstentions. The committee's vote amends the staff recommendations to add the 30-day follow-up and directs staff to return with departmental progress metrics.

The committee closed the item after instructing staff to develop the online training, prepare a standardized incident-report form, create model contract language and identify department liaisons. The committee did not adopt new disciplinary rules; Espinoza said discipline would remain within departments' existing personnel processes and that the CLA would look to coordinate with the City Attorney's guidance.

Next steps: Departments will be expected to begin designating liaisons, adopt the CLA's model language for contracts and participate in the online training once the platform is available; the committee will receive a progress report in 30 days on recommendations one to five.