LOS ANGELES _ Los Angeles city leaders are considering a series of moves designed to protect immigrants in this city illegally in the wake of Donald Trump's election, including the hiring of an immigration advocate and policies to prevent L.A. residents from being deported.
Worried that Trump will pursue mass deportations once in office, Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson announced the effort Thursday, saying the city's residents are "deeply concerned" about changes to federal immigration policies under Trump.
"These concerns should not be underestimated," he wrote.
Wesson said he wants the City Council to create a new position of immigrant advocate and come up with strategies for protecting all federal grants, loans and other funds during the Trump administration. He also asked city analysts to provide a formal definition of "sanctuary city" and determine how such a term might affect Los Angeles.
Illegal immigration was a central issue of Trump's presidential campaign. Trump called for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, deportation of people who are in the country illegally and a rollback in the immigration relief created under President Barack Obama. Trump said during the campaign that he would withhold federal funds to punish so-called sanctuary cities, including Los Angeles and Chicago, for their lenient policies toward illegal immigration.
In his letter, Wesson pointed to statistics that show that nearly 39 percent of Los Angeles residents are foreign-born. Within that group, more than 57 percent are not citizens, he said.
"That translates to the very real possibility that one out of every five Angelenos are likely to be affected by changes to immigration policies, funding and enforcement at the federal level," he wrote.
Wesson said he wants city officials to work with the Los Angeles Unified School District and the Los Angeles Community College District to develop policies that "protect students and keep families together."
Los Angeles leaders, he said, "need to educate and prepare ourselves to defend our values, to defend our quality of life, to defend keeping students and families together," he wrote.
Wesson's proposal will be introduced at Tuesday's council meeting. At City Hall, a new immigrant advocate would need to work closely with Mayor Eric Garcetti's Office of Immigrant Affairs, Wesson said.
Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said Monday the department had no plans to get involved in any deportation efforts by the federal government and would continue a longstanding policy against allowing officers to stop people solely to determine their immigration status.
Los Angeles is known for its immigrant-friendly policies, but Garcetti said he avoids using the phrase "sanctuary city," saying it's "ill-defined."
"We cooperate all the time with federal immigration officials when there are criminals that are in our midst and need to be deported," Garcetti said last week before a meeting with immigration rights groups. "With that said, we're a very welcoming city, where our law enforcement officers and LAPD don't go around asking people for their papers, nor should they."
More than 1 million of the estimated 11 million immigrants in the country without legal status live in Los Angeles County, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
On CNN Wednesday night, Garcetti said mass deportations would push noncitizens "back into the shadows" and hurt the economy.
"I would like to see assurances from the incoming administration that we're not going to see children ripped away from their parents in the middle of the night," said Garcetti, appearing on "CNN Tonight with Don Lemon."
