Santa Ana is the eighth Southern California city, the only from Orange County, to join in a lawsuit seeking to prevent federal agents from conducting what city leaders allege are unconstitutional immigration stops and raids without reasonable suspicion or probable cause.
Related: City of LA, county and 7 cities join lawsuit to stop federal immigration raids
“The city of Santa Ana is committed to safeguarding the rights, dignity, and safety of all its residents. By joining this lawsuit, the city stands in solidarity with neighboring jurisdictions to challenge enforcement actions that undermine public trust and violate due process,” a city news release said. “Respecting constitutional rights is not optional — it is fundamental to good governance and community safety.”
The City Council approved joining the federal class action lawsuit 6-0 during a closed session Tuesday night, July 15, with Councilmember Jessie Lopez absent. Vasquez Perdomo v. Noem was filed by various immigration and civil rights organizations, including the American Farmworkers Union and the American Civil Liberties Union.
“It was necessary, given that one of our only lines of defense against the Trump administration was lawsuits,” Councilmember Johnathan Hernandez said in a later interview. “Being the only sanctuary city in Orange County, we have a duty to protect our residents and, right now, cities across California are lining up shoulder to shoulder, to protect our First, Fourth and Tenth amendments rights.”
The lawsuit challenges the use of alleged disproportionate force during immigration enforcement actions by multiple agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It also challenges what the city described as an “unlawful confinement of people held at federal buildings without access to legal representation.”
Border Protection and ICE representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.
Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, previously denied the lawsuit’s allegations of unconstitutional raids and said federal law enforcement agents do not conduct operations without proper procedure.
“ICE does not randomly arrest people or conduct operations without specific objectives. Nor does federal law enforcement execute operations without undergoing proper procedure, such as securing warrants when necessary,” she said in a statement, also adding that people “in detention have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers. The appropriate process due to an illegal alien with final deportation orders is removal, plain and simple. That said, DHS has a stringent law enforcement assessment in place that abides by due process under the U.S. Constitution.”
“For the past month, we’ve seen individuals picked up at car washes and Home Depot parking lots, then simply disappear without warrants, probable cause, or due process,” Supervisor Hilda Solis said in a statement when L.A. County announced it was signing on.
Earlier this month, Santa Ana’s City Council approved a resolution calling on federal elected representatives to advocate for the removal of ICE and military citywide, arguing that aggressive enforcement actions carried out have had notable economic and social effects, have spread fear in the city’s immigrant communities and have eroded trust between residents and local police.
“While immigration enforcement remains a federal responsibility, Santa Ana affirms that such enforcement must always be conducted lawfully and with full respect for the rights of every individual,” Santa Ana officials said in their announcement that the city would join the lawsuit.
Santa Ana became the first sanctuary city in the county in 2016 and approved an ordinance that limited cooperation between the city and federal immigration authorities. This includes limiting the use of city resources for immigration enforcement and protecting residents’ sensitive information.
Staff Writer Teresa Liu contributed to this report.
