LOS ANGELES – In a significant legal challenge to federal immigration enforcement tactics, the City of Los Angeles announced on Tuesday, July 9, 2025, it is joining a federal class-action lawsuit against the Trump administration. The suit seeks to halt controversial federal immigration raids that city officials and immigrant rights advocates contend employ unlawful and unconstitutional methods.
Mayor Karen Bass made the announcement, signaling the city’s formal opposition to operations allegedly conducted by federal immigration agents in the Los Angeles area. The move follows a period of heightened tension over immigration enforcement, including a confrontation involving Mayor Bass and federal agents in MacArthur Park on Monday.
Basis of the Legal Challenge
The federal lawsuit, initially filed by the ACLU of Southern California and other prominent immigrant rights organizations, centers on allegations that the federal government is utilizing unlawful tactics specifically designed to meet predetermined arrest quotas within the Los Angeles region. The complaint details alleged actions, including unconstitutional arrests and detentions, as part of these enforcement efforts.
City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto articulated the city’s concerns, stating that the presence of “thousands of armed immigration agents and military troops,” who often operate “lacking visible identification,” is actively “sowing fear and chaos” within the community. Soto emphasized that the city would not passively permit these actions to become normalized or establish a “standard operating procedure.”
Broad Coalition Joins the Effort
The City of Los Angeles is not alone in this legal fight. It is seeking to intervene in the lawsuit alongside a coalition of other local government entities. This group includes the County of Los Angeles, and the cities of Culver City, Montebello, Monterey Park, Pasadena, Pico Rivera, Santa Monica, and West Hollywood. These municipalities aim to present a united front against the federal operations.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the appropriate federal jurisdiction for challenges against federal actions occurring within the district. The motion to intervene, filed by the coalition of cities and the county, puts forth specific arguments regarding the impact of the raids on local governance and finances.
Alleged Impacts on Local Governance
The motion to intervene argues that the federal raids, which have reportedly been ongoing since June 6, 2025, are actively obstructing local government functions across the affected municipalities. Furthermore, the motion contends that these operations are having a direct economic impact by depriving the cities and county of essential tax revenue.
This argument highlights the interconnectedness of federal immigration enforcement and local community and economic stability, suggesting that the federal actions are creating tangible disruptions beyond just the direct impact on individuals targeted by the raids.
Challenging Alleged Unconstitutional Conduct
The core of the lawsuit and the intervention motion challenges the legality and constitutionality of the specific methods employed during the raids. The filing argues that the alleged “unconstitutional and unlawful stops, roundups, and raids” are targeting individuals based on their “perceived ethnicity.” This allegation raises significant concerns about potential profiling and discrimination in enforcement.
The legal challenge further asserts that the operations involve the use of “disproportionate force” and result in “detention in unlawful conditions.” A critical component of the complaint is the claim that individuals are being detained without adequate access to legal counsel, undermining their due process rights.
Context and Immediate Future
The decision by Los Angeles to join the lawsuit comes amidst ongoing federal enforcement activities that have generated significant local concern. As noted, the raids have reportedly been active since early June.
The backdrop to this legal escalation includes recent public events, such as Mayor Bass’s confrontation on Monday with federal agents and National Guard troops in MacArthur Park. This incident underscored the visible and sometimes contentious nature of the federal presence and operations in public spaces within the city.
The legal challenge is moving forward rapidly. A hearing has been scheduled for Thursday to consider whether to issue a temporary restraining order against the administration’s arrest operations. Such an order, if granted by the court, could potentially provide immediate, though temporary, relief by pausing the contested enforcement actions while the broader legal challenge proceeds.
The decision by Los Angeles and the coalition of local governments marks a significant escalation in the legal and political battle over federal immigration enforcement policies and practices under the Trump administration, bringing the dispute directly into the federal judicial system.
