Brief

Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson introduced this ordinance to protect Los Angeles residents during federal immigration enforcement actions. The measure was approved by the Civil Rights, Equity, Immigration, Aging, and Disability Committee in March and adopted by full Council on March 25, 2026, by a vote of 14-0-1. The City Attorney has since submitted additional documents in September, currently under review by the Civil Rights, Immigration, Social Services and Neighborhoods Committee.

Full summary

This file originates in Mayor Karen Bass's Executive Directive 17, issued February 10, 2026, which instructed city departments to limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, joined by five co-movers, brought forward legislation to give those directives permanent legal force by codifying them in the Los Angeles Administrative Code. The draft ordinance prepared by City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto has three substantive components. First, it would require city departments to use access controls to secure non-public portions of city-owned or controlled properties, preventing federal immigration agents from freely entering those areas. Second, it would prohibit city-owned or controlled property from being used as a staging area, processing location, or operations base for immigration enforcement, and would require city properties to be posted with signage to that effect. Third, it would require any vendor seeking to do business with the city to disclose upfront any contracts they hold that involve sharing data with ICE, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services — a disclosure requirement modeled on the city's existing Border Wall contracting ordinance from 2018. The City Attorney's September 2026 report notes that the contracting disclosure language was narrowed from Executive Directive 17's original text, at the Mayor's Office's direction, to cover only those three immigration-specific agencies and not other Department of Homeland Security components such as FEMA, TSA, or the Coast Guard. The draft ordinance also does not yet include an impact fee provision that appeared in Executive Directive 17, which would have assessed fees on private property owners who allow their land to be used for immigration enforcement. That provision is on hold pending a nexus study by the Department of City Planning. The motion cleared the Civil Rights, Equity, Immigration, Aging, and Disability Committee on March 6, 2026, drawing community impact statements from three neighborhood councils. The full Council adopted the item 14-0-1 on March 25, with action becoming final March 28. The City Attorney's draft ordinance was transmitted in September 2026 and referred to the Civil Rights, Immigration, Social Services and Neighborhoods Committee, where the codification language now awaits further review and a final vote before the ordinance takes effect.

Activity (11)

• 2026-09-15 City Attorney document(s) referred to Civil Rights, Immigration, Social Services and Neighborhoods Committee.
• 2026-09-14 Document submitted by City Attorney, dated September 14, 2026.
• 2026-04-28 Community Impact Statement submitted by Los Feliz Neighborhood Council.
• 2026-03-28 Council action final.
• 2026-03-25 Council adopted item, subject to reconsideration, pursuant to Council Rule 51.
• 2026-03-20 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on March 25, 2026.
• 2026-03-17 Community Impact Statement submitted by Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council.
• 2026-03-09 Community Impact Statement submitted by North Westwood Neighborhood Council.
• 2026-03-06 Civil Rights, Equity, Immigration, Aging, and Disability Committee approved item(s) .
• 2026-03-03 Civil Rights, Equity, Immigration, Aging, and Disability Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on March 6, 2026.
• 2026-02-13 Motion referred to Civil Rights, Equity, Immigration, Aging, and Disability Committee.

Documents (9)

• 2026-09-14 Report from City Attorney · report
• 2026-09-14 Attachment to Report dated 9-14-26 - Draft Ordinance · attachment
• 2026-04-28 Community Impact Statement submitted by Los Feliz Neighborhood Council · cis
• 2026-03-28 Council Action · council_action
• 2026-03-17 Community Impact Statement submitted by Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council · cis
• 2026-03-09 Community Impact Statement submitted by North Westwood Neighborhood Council · cis
• 2026-03-06 Report from Civil Rights, Equity, Immigration, Aging, and Disability Committee · report
• 2026-03-06 Speaker Card(s) · speaker_card
• 2026-02-13 Motion · motion

Council votes (1)

• 2026-03-25 Vote — 14-0-1 · Regular