American Notes Los Angeles

When the Los Angeles City Council passed a resolution declaring the city a "sanctuary" for those "who have fled their country for fear of persecution on the basis of their political beliefs," the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service was less than overjoyed. The resolution, which calls for city employees not to inquire about an individual's residency status, added Los Angeles' name to the roster of the dozen or so American municipalities that have joined the sanctuary movement. Intended to show concern for the hundreds of thousands of Central American refugees now living in Los Angeles, the resolution controverts the Reagan Administration's policy of deporting them. Last week Harold Ezell, Western regional commissioner of the INS, went to Washington to propose cutting off Los Angeles' federal funds in retaliation. Ezell has some clout in the Administration through his friendship with Attorney General Ed Meese, but his superiors at INS were in no hurry to support his proposal. "We're certainly not in favor of the resolution," said INS Spokesman Verne Jervis. "It tends to encourage illegal immigration." Still, he added, "it's more a moral problem than a practical one."