On Tuesday, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) said Los Angeles and other pro-amnesty cities are likely to file legal briefs in support of President Barack Obama’s executive amnesty. He also said even if there is an injunction against Obama’s executive amnesty, Los Angeles would continue its efforts to prepare eligible illegal immigrants to qualify for it.
At National Journal‘s “Next America: Population 2043” event in Washington, D.C., Garcetti said even if the 25 states opposed to Obama’s executive amnesty win the first round in court, it is important for pro-amnesty cities to support Obama’s executive amnesty during the appeals process with an amicus brief. Los Angeles has partnered with other cities like Chicago and New York to better implement Obama’s executive amnesty, and Garcetti said Los Angeles would “absolutely” move forward even if a court rules against executive amnesty because “we can’t afford not to.”
Twenty-five states have joined a lawsuit against Obama’s executive amnesty while 12 states joined a brief in support of Obama’s executive amnesty.
Federal Judge Andrew Hanen heard the case this week in Texas and said he would not issue a ruling on it before January 30.
Garcetti said Los Angeles has already started programs to train librarians and teachers to identify children and families who may qualify for executive amnesty. He also said that children are important in the process since they may be better educated than their parents. Garcetti said that kids can “change the entire family’s legal outlook.”
After claiming that executive amnesty will not cause more illegal immigration, Garcetti said his city is trying to “address the fears” of illegal immigrants by not honoring Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers if they do not come with a judge’s orders. He touted the city’s many multi-lingual programs and outreach to immigrant communities and claimed that illegal immigration is not “corrosive” to democracy and the economy.
But when an audience member questioned whether illegal immigrants were taking jobs from Americans in his city, Garcetti mentioned that his city had to start programs to get more blacks in Los Angeles into the various trade professions because people who “couldn’t speak Spanish” were not able to find work as electricians and plumbers or in other trades.
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