Sanctuary City Status Could Cost Los Angeles Millions

The Los Angeles region could lose out on millions of dollars in funding for counter-terrorism and infrastructure security programs under the so-called “Sanctuary Cities” bill approved Thursday by the U.S. House of Representatives, according to testimony submitted to Congress this week by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Because Los Angeles is widely considered a “sanctuary city” -- in which police officers refrain from asking members of the public they come in contact with about their immigration status -- it could lose out on federal anti-terrorism and public safety funding under HR 3009, the “Enforce the Law for Sanctuary Cities Act,” Garcetti wrote in a four-page statement to members of Congress.

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The bill was introduced by Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Temecula, eight days after the July 1 slaying of 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle in San Francisco, allegedly by convicted felon Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, a Mexican national who had been deported five times.

Lopez-Sanchez has been charged with murder for the apparently random attack. According to authorities, he had been arrested in San Francisco, considered a sanctuary city, just before the shooting but was not held by police to be turned over to Immigration & Customs Enforcement officials upon his release from jail.

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Under Hunter’s proposal, the federal Immigration and Nationality Act would be amended to freeze allocations to cities or states with “any law, policy or procedure” that undermines provisions of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.

The bill defines a sanctuary policy as anything that “prohibits state or local law enforcement officials from gathering information regarding the citizenship or immigration status ... of any individual.”

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San Francisco, Los Angeles and dozens of other cities throughout California and the nation have specific policies against inquiring whether a suspect meets the federal definition of “illegal alien,” according to Hunter.

“The American people have a right to not give their tax dollars to municipalities and states that do not follow federal law,” Hunter said.

“The fact that San Francisco and L.A. and other cities disagree with the politics of federal enforcement does not give them a free pass to subvert the law.”

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Garcetti said Hunter’s bill would “jeopardize” several federal grants that Los Angeles and other municipalities in the area use to identify terrorism threats, protect cargo and equipment at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports and allow local officials to take part in terrorism investigations.

The federal funding is also used to purchase fire department vehicles; build power generators; pay for training in handling chemical, biological, nuclear and other kinds of hazards and construct a communications network used by local fire and police departments, Garcetti said.

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The Los Angeles area, which the Department of Homeland Security “recently named as the second most vulnerable region to terrorism,” received $69.5 million in grants through the Urban Areas Security Initiative, $10 million from the State Homeland Security Grant Program and $1.7 million in Justice Assistance Grants, Garcetti wrote in his letter to Congress.

Los Angeles is often considered a sanctuary city due to a Los Angeles Police Department policy adopted in 1979 “to assure immigrant communities within the city of Los Angeles that there is no need to fear contact with the LAPD when they have been the victim or a witness to a crime,” Garcetti said.

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This policy “ensures that LAPD officers will not initiate investigations solely to determine a person’s immigration status, and that LAPD officers will treat all people with respect and dignity,” according to Garcetti.

“The LAPD recognizes that criminals often prey on those who are most vulnerable, and those living without legal sanction often are vulnerable to crime and criminals,” he wrote.

He also noted that there is no “legal definition” for the term “sanctuary city,” and further, Los Angeles does not offer sanctuary to immigrants in all instances.

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The city’s policy “does not prevent officers from turning over those arrested for ‘multiple misdemeanors, a high grade misdemeanor, or felony offense’ to immigration authorities,” Garcetti wrote.

“In fact, it specifically directs officers to contact the federal government if the individual arrested is in the country without proper documentation.”

Garcetti wrote that while he does not consider Los Angeles a so-called “sanctuary city,” it “may be swept up in the broad language of the ‘sanctuary city’ amendments currently under consideration by Congress.”

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“Enacting a ‘sanctuary city’ funding restriction may help abate the anger over a murder, but it will also create major vulnerabilities in the safety and security of nationally significant infrastructure and deal a serious blow to our entire region’s counter-terrorism, security, and emergency preparedness efforts,” Garcetti wrote.

The House approved Duncan’s proposal in a 241-179 vote. The bill now goes to the Senate, and if it passes there, it goes to the president for signing. President Barack Obama has indicated that he plans to veto the bill if it reaches him. Congress can override the veto with a two-thirds vote by both houses.

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If enacted, HR 3009 would withhold reimbursements under the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, which mitigates the costs of incarcerating undocumented offenders.

The proposal would also put the brakes on Byrne Justice Assistance Grant funding, as well as money doled out under the Clinton-era Community-Oriented Policing Services Program, better known as COPS.

The 2015 allotments made available for SCAAP, Byrne and COPS total nearly $800 million, according to Hunter’s office.

--City News Service; Aerial Photo of Los Angeles via LA County Sheriff’s Department; Photo of Kate Steinle courtesy Go Fund Me