The Trump administration Monday sued the city of Los Angeles, accusing it of violating federal law with its “sanctuary city” policies by discriminating against immigration authorities and restricting cooperation granted to other law enforcement agencies.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles, claims sanctuary laws are illegal and “obstruct the Federal Government’s enforcement of federal immigration law and impede consultation and communication between federal, state, and local law enforcement officials that is necessary for federal officials to carry out federal immigration law and keep Americans safe.”

The filing asks the court to declare Los Angeles’ policies invalid under the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, which the suit says “prohibits the city and its officials from obstructing the federal government’s ability to enforce laws that Congress has enacted or to take actions entrusted to it by the Constitution.”

Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, who co-wrote the sanctuary city ordinance with Councilmembers Nithya Raman and Eunisses Hernandez, criticized President Donald Trump as he defended the policy Monday.

“Trump is tearing families apart, and he’s trying to force every city and town to help him carry out his White nationalist agenda,” he said. “This baseless lawsuit only gets one thing right — we refuse to stand by and let Donald Trump deport innocent families. We’re going to do everything within our power to keep families together.”

Hernandez also criticized the lawsuit, calling it “another senseless provocation by the Trump administration to try to bully Los Angeles into complying with their authoritarian agenda.”

“These are scare tactics meant to dissuade us from protecting our communities from being terrorized,” she said. “We won’t stand silently by as they rip families apart.”

Rep. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena, also condemned the lawsuit Monday, calling it “an attempt to federalize our local law enforcement to participate in Trump’s outrageous mass ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) raids” and Trump’s “latest attempt to punish Californians for standing up to his cruel and chaotic agenda.”

“Trump’s mass ICE raids have terrorized neighborhoods, ripped apart families, and trampled on all of our constitutional rights,” she said. “They have pointed guns at innocent bystanders and even arrested U.S. citizens, including one of my constituents, simply for documenting these raids. This lawsuit is yet another step toward authoritarianism that the administration hopes will be a distraction from Republicans ramming a bill through Congress that would strip health coverage from 17 million Americans to hand trillions in tax breaks to the ultrawealthy.”

Mayor Karen Bass’ office and City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.

Los Angeles has been a battleground for the Trump administration’s clashes with Democrats over immigration. The city’s sanctuary city ordinance, which prohibits any city resources or personnel from being used to help federal enforcement of immigration laws, was approved by the council in 2023 but finalized in November after Trump’s election victory.

At the time, Bass described the policy as an urgent measure to protect vulnerable residents.

“Especially in the face of growing threats to the immigrant communities here in Los Angeles, I stand with the people of this city,” she said. “This moment demands urgency.”

Tensions have further spiked in recent weeks between the federal government and local officials as ICE conducted a series of high-profile raids across Los Angeles. The operations have drawn large protests, with demonstrators targeting government buildings and sometimes clashing with federal agents and local law enforcement.

Bass has condemned violent demonstrators while also accusing the Trump administration of provoking unrest and misrepresenting the city’s response. She has defended the actions of local law enforcement and denied claims that city or state leaders encouraged the violence.

The City Council is scheduled to consider several resolutions on Tuesday responding to the recent ICE raids and protests. Proposals include directing the city attorney to pursue legal action to block unconstitutional searches and seizures and instructing city departments to review and limit how the Los Angeles Police Department responds to requests for federal immigration enforcement support.

In a statement to Fox News, Attorney General Pam Bondi blamed sanctuary policies for the recent violence surrounding federal immigration raids in Southern California.

“Sanctuary policies were the driving cause of the violence, chaos, and attacks on law enforcement that Americans recently witnessed in Los Angeles,” she said. “Jurisdictions like Los Angeles that flout federal law by prioritizing illegal aliens over American citizens are undermining law enforcement at every level. It ends under President Trump.”

According to the federal government, then-candidate Trump campaigned and won the presidential election in 2024 “on a platform of deporting the millions of illegal immigrants the previous administration permitted, through its open borders policy, to enter the country unlawfully.”

“Days after President Trump won the Nov. 5, 2024 election, the Los Angeles City Council, wishing to thwart the will of the American people regarding deportations, began the process of codifying into law its sanctuary city policies,” the federal government said.

The lawsuit names Bass, the City Council and Harris-Dawson as defendants.

City News Service contributed to this report.