Los Angeles authorities prohibit city employees from working with ICE.

Key Takeaways

• Los Angeles City Council voted 14–1 to approve an ordinance barring city employees — sworn and civilian — from taking secondary employment with immigration agencies such as ICE, CBP or other Department of Homeland Security (DHS) efforts.
• The measure, reported as the first of its kind in the U.S., still requires Personnel Commission review and Mayor Karen Bass’s signature to become law.
• City officials say the rule is meant to protect public trust and keep local officers from acting as immigration agents; practical enforcement will include a disciplinary framework and coordination with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).
• The change affects all city employees and could have income consequences for workers who accept outside federal assignments; it does not change federal immigration law or DHS enforcement powers.

What the ordinance does

The City Council approved an ordinance that prohibits Los Angeles city employees — whether sworn officers or civilian staff — from accepting additional employment with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or other activities tied to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). ICE is the federal agency that enforces immigration laws inside the U.S.; CBP is responsible for border security and customs enforcement; DHS is the parent department. The vote was 14–1, with Councilmember Bob Blumenfield absent. It has been reported that City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto backed the measure. The ordinance still needs action by the Personnel and Hiring Commission and the mayor’s signature to take effect.

Legal and practical implications

City leaders framed the ordinance as a step to preserve the integrity and trustworthiness of city employees and to prevent municipal staff from participating in immigration “redadas” (raids) that council members say separate families and harm communities. The city will set a disciplinary framework to enforce the rule and coordinate with the LAPD on protocols so first-line officers are not used as immigration agents. Because immigration enforcement is primarily a federal function, the ordinance — novel at the municipal level — could raise legal questions about scope and preemption; the measure’s practical durability may depend on how those issues are litigated, and on administrative details the Personnel Commission and mayor finalize.

What this means for people and city workers

For immigrants and community members, city officials say the law aims to increase trust in local government so residents will feel safer using city services without fear that city employees are moonlighting as federal immigration officers. For city employees, the ban removes a category of potential secondary work; that could affect pay for staff who previously took outside assignments with federal agencies. Crucially, the ordinance does not change federal immigration statutes or DHS’s authority to enforce immigration laws — it only curtails employment relationships between city workers and specified federal immigration activities. Residents and employees should watch the Personnel Commission review and the mayor’s action for when and how the rule will be implemented.

Source: Original Article