LA reviews ban on outside work with immigration enforcement

The Los Angeles City Council instructed its legal staff on Wednesday to prepare an ordinance prohibiting municipal workers and sworn personnel from taking on outside employment with federal agencies conducting immigration enforcement.

In a 14-0 vote, the council approved a motion introduced by members Monica Rodriguez and Ysabel Jurado on Sept. 12 to ensure that city employees "do not participate in immigration enforcement agency actions," calling it "critical to maintaining community trust and ensuring legal compliance with city and state policies."

Councilman Curren Price was absent during the vote.

City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, Chief Legislative Analyst Sharon Tso and City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo are expected to draft the ordinance for the council's approval.

"I thought it was important for us to really enshrine our city values -- and what would not be considered or entertained is the opportunity to seek outside employment with an agency that has constantly rolled into our city and countless other cities across the country and assaulted and abducted members of our community," Rodriguez said.

"It's for that reason that I thought it was important for us to enshrine in our rules the prohibitions from allowing city employees to be able to engage in this outside employment at a time when we need to continue to foster trust in our local government, particularly at a time when our federal government has made it quite clear they have absolutely zero intention in shoring up and strengthening people's trust in their government," Rodriguez added.

According to a previous statement from Price, the Los Angeles City Council has approved three significant motions designed to protect Angelenos in response to recent aggressive Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids.

The first motion instructs the City Attorney to draft an ordinance requiring the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) to verify the identity of anyone claiming to be a law enforcement officer when seeking LAPD assistance during an enforcement action.

The second motion formally requests, through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and ICE provide records that will increase transparency around federal immigration enforcement activities in Los Angeles since the start of the year.

The third motion directs City departments to adhere to established protocols when responding to federal immigration actions. It also instructs the City Attorney to pursue all available legal remedies against any federal agencies found to be violating the constitutional rights of Angelenos.

The Los Angeles Administrative Code states that city officials, other than elected city officers and part-time board and commission members, shall not accept a payment for honoraria or other outside earned income or employment without prior written approval.

Approval must be obtained from the general manager or chief administrative officer of the city's department.

This policy does not restrict any related work with immigration enforcement agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Patrol, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which is what the new policy aims to address for all city and sworn personnel.

Other secondary employment related to immigration enforcement that may be restricted as it relates to immigration enforcement involves law enforcement support and contractual work such as data analysis, legal support, community outreach or advocacy.

Tom Saggau, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union representing  Los Angeles Police Department officers up to the rank of lieutenant, said the union did not provide any guidance on the motion.

He noted that many police officers have outside employment or have their own businesses. The department must approve the outside work to ensure there is no conflict of interest and that officers are not overworked and are adequately rested for their LAPD shifts.

"We remain focused on working to keep our neighborhoods safe and won't be distracted from that mission," Saggau said. "We are evaluating any potential impacts from this effort on police officers, but we won't be distracted from efforts to increase and improve recruiting and retention efforts."

Federal agencies have offered a range of incentives to hire more personnel to aid with immigration enforcement. Saggau noted that the union has seen "zero impacts" to recruiting efforts as federal agencies ramp up their personnel.

"The LAPD provides a much higher pay and benefits package, and the excitement of being part of a long tradition of service that the LAPD is well known for," Saggau added.

Additional reporting by City News Service.