The Trump administration has now lost three federal lawsuits challenging sanctuary city policies. Los Angeles became the latest on June 21, 2026, when U.S. District Judge Fernando M. Olguin dismissed the case, ruling that the city's ordinance "controls the actions of [the City's] own agents and agencies" rather than directly regulating the federal government [2]. Boston and Chicago won dismissals on the same legal theory [2].
Judge Olguin found that L.A.'s sanctuary law does not violate the intergovernmental immunity doctrine because it governs how the city uses its own resources, not how federal immigration authorities operate [2]. The administration filed the original lawsuit in California's Central District federal court in June 2025 [2]. They have until July 3 to file an amended complaint [2].
What the ordinance prohibits
The law bars city employees from investigating, citing, arresting, holding, transferring, or detaining anyone for immigration enforcement purposes, with exceptions for serious offenses [2]. It prohibits asking about citizenship or immigration status unless needed to provide a city service [2]. It treats immigration data as confidential [2].
City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto said the ruling reinforces that local governments have authority to decide how to use their personnel and resources [2]. The ordinance's goal, according to her office, is to encourage crime victims and witnesses to feel safe seeking help from LAPD regardless of immigration status [2].
The Trump administration's lawsuit alleged the ordinance violates federal law by barring city resources from aiding immigration enforcement [2]. The complaint stated that immigration agents arrested thousands of immigrants in Southern California, prompting regional protests, and claimed the federal government deployed the California National Guard and United States Marines to address the situation [2].
The pattern
The administration has filed several lawsuits challenging sanctuary city policies adopted in Democrat-run jurisdictions [2]. Federal judges dismissed the Boston and Chicago cases using the same reasoning Olguin applied: a city telling its own employees what to do with city money is not the same as a city regulating federal agents [2].
The reconciliation law signed by President Trump in July 2025 provided $170 billion for immigration enforcement activities, including $45 billion to the Department of Homeland Security for expansion of immigration detention centers [1]. The legal strategy targeting sanctuary cities has not yet produced a courtroom win.
Mayor Karen Bass said the ruling "affirms the righteousness of our commitment to protect immigrants and all Angelenos" [2]. The White House and Department of Justice did not respond to requests for comment on the dismissal [2].
The administration has until July 3 to file an amended complaint [2].
Legal experts say the government faces an uphill battle in any appeal, as the Tenth Amendment principles cited by Judge Olguin have been consistently upheld across multiple federal circuits [2]. Similar sanctuary policies remain in effect in San Francisco, New York, and dozens of other cities nationwide [2].
