LAPD Cancels Immigrant Rights Briefing, Advocates Demand Accountability Anyway

The Los Angeles Police Commission invited immigrant advocacy groups to brief them on federal immigration raids and community protection strategies. Then, three days before the scheduled presentation, they pulled the plug.

No explanation. No apology. Just a phone call on Friday saying the Tuesday meeting was off.

So the advocates -- including the ACLU of Southern California, the Central American Resource Center, and LA Voice -- showed up anyway. They held a press conference outside LAPD headquarters with dozens of supporters holding "ICE out of LAPD" signs, demanding answers about why the department keeps helping federal agents round up their neighbors.

"We need LAPD to not just blindly trust ICE and Border Patrol," said Andres Kwon, senior policy counsel at the ACLU of Southern California.

The canceled presentation was supposed to address a months-long pattern: LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell publicly waffling on whether his officers should comply with state accountability laws or assist federal immigration sweeps that detained more than 14,000 people in the region last year.

A Pattern of Broken Promises

Police Commission President Teresa Sanchez Gordon offered to host the presentation at a March meeting, according to The LA Local. Kwon said he and others met with Sanchez Gordon and Inspector General Matthew Barragan in recent weeks to coordinate the 20-minute briefing. They planned to present statistics on raid impacts and a history of their work protecting immigrants fleeing persecution since the 1980s.

Then came the cancellation call. The commission did not respond to requests explaining why.

Father Brendan Busse of Dolores Mission in Boyle Heights described organizing protection efforts during aggressive federal sweeps last year. "They threw tear gas and flash grenades at all of us," he said of a raid in the Fashion District, where LAPD officers established a perimeter around the federal operation and were seen escorting agents.

That is exactly the kind of cooperation that Los Angeles sanctuary policies are supposed to prevent.

Sanctuary in Name Only

The LA City Council established a sanctuary ordinance in late 2024, restricting how city employees and resources can assist federal immigration enforcement. Last year, the council passed additional legislation directing the commission to further limit LAPD interactions with immigration agents.

In February, Mayor Karen Bass ordered the department to draw a clearer line between local police work and federal deportation efforts. McDonnell responded by establishing policies requiring officers to identify federal agents at sweep sites and be present only to protect the public.

But Martha Arevalo, executive director of the Central American Resource Center, said LAPD continues responding to federal immigration agents requesting aid, "effectively assisting ICE operations in ways that undermine the local sanctuary protections."

"As a city and as a police department, we have to ask the question: Who are we here to protect?" Arevalo told the crowd outside LAPD headquarters.

The Department Stays Silent

Several people spoke during the public comment period of the commission meeting, requesting that the groups be invited again to present on protecting the city's immigrants.

The Los Angeles Police Department did not respond to requests for comment.

The commission's silence speaks volumes. When immigrant advocates offer expertise on protecting vulnerable communities from federal overreach, and the response is a canceled meeting with no explanation, it raises an obvious question: Is LAPD more interested in protecting residents or protecting its relationship with ICE?

The advocates already know the answer. That is why they showed up anyway.