By Blake Brittain
June 22 (Reuters) – A California court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump’s administration against Los Angeles over a city ordinance limiting its cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
U.S. District Judge Fernando Olguin rejected the administration’s argument that the city’s policy was unconstitutional. He gave the administration permission to file an amended complaint.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the decision on Monday.
Los Angeles city attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto said in a statement on Monday that the ruling “reinforces the well-established principle that local governments have the authority to decide how to use their personnel and resources.”
The administration’s lawsuit, filed last June, alleged that Los Angeles violated federal law by enacting policies barring city resources from being used to aid immigration enforcement operations or collect information about individuals’ citizenship status. The lawsuit came weeks after Trump deployed troops to quell protests in Los Angeles against deportation operations.
Olguin on Saturday rejected the administration’s argument that the city unconstitutionally tried to regulate the federal government, finding instead that the ordinance “controls the actions of the City’s own agents and agencies.”
The Trump administration has filed several lawsuits challenging similar policies adopted in jurisdictions run by Democrats. Federal judges have dismissed administration lawsuits brought against the cities of Boston and Chicago.
(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
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