Speakers urge council to keep LAPD out of ICE raids, cite sanctuary policy

Several public commenters told the Los Angeles City Council that the Los Angeles Police Department should not participate in federal immigration enforcement operations and that such involvement undermines the city’s sanctuary policy.

One commenter warned council members that LAPD presence in immigration raids creates confusion and “contradicts the city’s sanctuary ordinance,” saying the practice risks civil‑rights violations and damages trust between immigrant communities and local police.

Chamic Shirt, introduced as representing a center focused on immigrant policy, said the presence of federal immigration enforcement and local police has caused trauma in communities and cited reports of hundreds of people detained in recent raids. “ICE is conducting actions that terrorize residents and divide families,” Chamic Shirt said, and called on the council to hold the police department accountable and to produce a report clarifying LAPD’s role in federal operations, particularly in schools.

Another commenter said LAPD actions in enforcement operations could cause the department to be complicit in constitutional violations and urged the council to bar LAPD from cooperating with ICE without court orders. Speakers framed the request as consistent with the city’s sanctuary commitments and asked the council to take steps to prevent local law enforcement from facilitating federal immigration enforcement.

The record of the meeting shows these statements as public comment; the transcript does not record any immediate council motion, staff report, or formal vote to restrict LAPD involvement in federal enforcement during this session.