Days after California’s governor vetoed a bill that would have let local authorities ignore federal requests to hold undocumented immigrants for possible deportation, the Los Angeles police chief has decided he won’t comply with the requests in low-level cases.

Police Chief Charlie Beck said Thursday that he had to craft a program that would serve his community.

"It strikes me as somebody who runs a police department that is 45 percent Hispanic and polices a city that is at least that, that we need to build trust in these communities and we need to build cooperation or we won't be prepared," the Los Angeles Times quoted Beck as saying.

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Out of 105,000 annual arrests, the Los Angeles police get about 3,400 requests, known as detainers or holds, from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, The Los Angeles Daily News reported.  The holds are part of the Secure Communities program, in which the FBI shares fingerprints of those arrested with federal immigration authorities, who determine if the persons are legally in the U.S. or if they can be deported due to a criminal conviction.

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Immigration advocates say the holds cast a wide dragnet that has ensnared even those who had committed minor crimes or no offenses at all. But ICE has said the program was instrumental in helping enforce immigration laws and in getting violent offenders off the streets.

“The LAPD is proposing to no longer grant an ICE detainer request without first reviewing the seriousness of the offense for which the person is being held as well as their prior arrest history and gang involvement,” according to an LAPD statement.

The department was developing a list of criminal offenses, such as public nuisance and low-grade misdemeanors, that in its view don’t meet the program's intended purpose.

Under the LAPD’s new proposal, those arrested for low-grade misdemeanors won’t be held for ICE unless the person had a prior felony arrest or was a documented gang member. The person also won't be held without additional information from ICE. The police will still honor detention requests on felony and high-grade misdemeanor arrests.

About 400 ICE requests annually could be ignored under the new policy, Beck said, adding that City Attorney Carmen Trutanich had informed him that police could legally refuse to honor ICE detainer requests, according to local media reports.

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Beck said he believes in some cases, the detentions have unnecessarily split up families, Reuters reported.

"Community trust is extremely important," he said. "It's my intent that we gain that trust back."

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Late Sunday, Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed the Trust Act, controversial legislation similar to what Beck has opted to do. Beck said his new rules, which he hopes to implement by Jan. 1, were in the works before the governor’s veto, the Daily News reported.

In his veto message, Brown said he could not sign the bill because under it, “local officers would be prohibited from complying with an immigration detainer unless the person arrested was charged with, or has been previously convicted of, a serious or violent felony.

“Unfortunately, the list of offenses codified in the bill is fatally flawed because it omits many serious crimes,” he said, adding that he would work with lawmakers to improve the legislation.

Several counties and cities have enacted ordinances that limit police cooperation with federal immigration authorities, The New York Times has reported.

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ICE says it prioritizes the deportation of those who present the most significant threats to public safety, and that it has deported more than 147,400 convicted criminal undocumented immigrants, including more than 54,200 individuals convicted of violent offenses such as murder, rape and the sexual abuse of children, under the program.

“Over the past three and half years, ICE has been dedicated to implementing smart, effective reforms to the immigration system that allow it to focus its resources on criminals, recent border crossers and repeat immigration law violators,” ICE Deputy Press Secretary Gillian Christensen said Friday in a statement to NBC News. “The federal government alone sets these priorities and places detainers on individuals arrested on criminal charges to ensure that dangerous criminal aliens and other priority individuals are not released from prisons and jails into our communities.”

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When Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg told a group of students that the Supreme Court would probably hear challenges during its upcoming term to the Defense of Marriage Act, which bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages, she confirmed what many observers were already thinking: The nation’s high court is poised to weigh in on the battle over same-sex marriage.

While answering questions from students at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Ginsburg was asked Wednesday about the equal protection clause and if the court might consider applying it to sexual orientation, an argument used in challenges to DOMA, the 1996 federal law that denies various benefits to same-sex couples.

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Though she said she couldn’t discuss matters that would come to the court, she also said, according to The Associated Press: “I think it’s most likely that we will have that issue before the court toward the end of the current term.”

The justices have been asked to hear five different challenges to DOMA that have been decided in lower courts, said Brian Moulton, legal director of Human Rights Campaign, an advocacy group for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights.

But just one of those, Windsor v. U.S. out of New York state, is listed for the court’s conference on Sept. 24, when they will have a first look at a range of cases seeking to be heard by the justices this year. They may hold that case until they have all of the DOMA challenges in front of them to consider, but Ginsburg’s comments reinforced what they were hoping for, Moulton told NBC News.

“I think it’s quite likely the court will … take one or more of the DOMA cases,” Moulton said. “Beyond that, I think we’re all just kind of waiting to see what that’s going to look like and when that might happen.”

Michael Klarman, a Harvard Law School professor who clerked for Ginsburg nearly 30 years ago when she was a DC Circuit judge, said he assumed that the Supreme Court was likely to take the case, so her comments make “it seem that much more probable.”

“ … with a bunch of lower court decisions and this being a pretty important issue, I think most people expected that they would grant review. She didn’t say they have granted review and obviously she is not supposed to say anything until it’s public, but she also has inside knowledge. So, I would say this just increases the likelihood that they’ll review the DOMA case,” said Klarman, author of “From the Closet to the Altar: Courts, Backlash, and the Struggle for Same-Sex Marriage.”

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Klarman said opposing sides on the bench, such as liberal justices who support same-sex marriage and conservatives who opposed federal intervention into states’ rights, potentially could come together on the issue.

“I think it’s actually a pretty easy case for them to some extent that’s reflected in the lower court decisions, where even judges who were appointed by Republican presidents have signed on to invalidating the statute,” he said. “So that’s probably a factor in granting review as well … if a bunch of the justices think this is a fairly easy constitutional issue to resolve, it might make them more inclined to grant review.”

He noted, however, that the court could issue a narrow ruling that kicks the issue back to the states or a broad one that would have big implications for state laws and constitutional amendments.

Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, which opposes same-sex marriage, said he was confident his side would win the court argument.

“It’s so far out to claim that somehow the states can force the federal government to redefine marriage. That’s so far out legally, I don’t see the Supreme Court siding with these decisions of lower courts,” he said.

DOMA was passed in 1996, when it appeared Hawaii would legalize same-sex marriage. Since then, many states have instituted their own bans on gay marriage, while eight states have approved it, led by Massachusetts in 2004, and followed by Connecticut, New York, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maryland, Washington state plus the District of Columbia.

The Maryland and Washington laws are not yet in effect and are subject to referendums in the November ballot. Maine is also holding a vote on whether to allow same-sex marriage, while voters in Minnesota will decide whether to add a same-sex marriage ban to their state constitution.

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U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald abruptly announced his resignation Wednesday with no heads up to top officials at the Justice Department and no current plans for new employment, his spokesman said.

Fitzgerald called Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Sens. Richard Durbin and Mark Kirk Wednesday morning to inform them of his plans to retire, just hours before his office publicly announced that he was resigning as of June 30 as U.S. attorney in Chicago. 

Fitzgerald, 51, was stepping down "for personal reasons," said Randall Samborn, Fitzgerald's longtime spokesman "It's been ten and a half years. It’s a long time."

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Originally nominated in 2001 by President George W. Bush and kept on by President Barack Obama, Fitzgerald was probably the Justice Department's most famous -- and controversial -- prosecutor. He oversaw major corruption investigations that put two lllinois governors -- Republican George Ryan and Democrat Rod Blagojevich -- and top Obama fundraiser Tony Rezko in prison.

He is best known for serving as special counsel in the CIA leak investigation that led to the conviction of Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice.

Under Fitzgerald, the U.S. Attorney's Office also convicted media baron Conrad Black.

More recently, Fitzgerald had been tapped by Holder to head an investigation into the leaking of classified information involving Guantanamo detainees that led to the indictment of former CIA officer John Kiriakou.

In the announcement of his departure, Fitzgerald thanked his colleagues.

"I extend my deepest appreciation to the attorneys and staff for their determined commitment to public service. This was a great office when I arrived, and I have no doubt that it will continue to be a great office," he said.

Holder on Wednesday praised Fitzgerald "as a prosecutor's prosecutor."

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Federal and local officials are denouncing a decision by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to deny funding to five Illinois counties hit by tornadoes and severe storms in late February and early March.

FEMA issued its decision on the major disaster declaration for individual assistance for Gallatin Randolph, Saline, Union and Williamson counties in a letter dated March 10 to Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn. The state's request, covering the period of Feb. 29 to March 3, also included hazard mitigation for all of its counties.

"Based on our review of all of the information available, it has been determined that the damage was not of such severity and magnitude as to be beyond the capabilities of the State, affected local governments, and voluntary agencies. Accordingly, we have determined that supplemental Federal assistance is not necessary," according to the letter, of which msnbc.com obtained a copy. "Therefore, I must inform you that your request for a major disaster declaration is denied."

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In the community of Harrisburg, the 170-mph winds of the Feb. 29 twister damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes and killed seven people, Mayor Eric Gregg told the Chicago Tribune.

"I want to know how this decision was reached and why," Gregg told the newspaper, noting Gregg the estimated damage to his community was in the "tens of millions." "Because frankly, I don't understand it."

In a statement to msnbc.com late Monday, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate said his agency stands ready to help during an emergency but FEMA was "not always the only option."

“In recent weeks, severe storms and tornadoes impacted the Midwest and South. Since then, FEMA has worked closely with the many affected states," including Illinois and its local governments to assess the damage, he said. Support from volunteer and faith-based groups, and the private sector, combined with aid available from the state and municipalities "demonstrates that the impact of the event remains within the capabilities of the State of Illinois and its affected local governments."

FEMA staff were on location to support preliminary damage assessments and would work with the state throughout its recovery.

"Every disaster is different, with unique circumstances, and in some cases a Governor’s request might not be approved," Fugate said. "FEMA’s decision means that the governor can proceed to work with other federal agencies through their own authorities."

The state's two U.S. Senators, Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mark Kirk (R-IL), have called for a meeting of Illinois' congressional delegation and Fugate to discuss an appeal -- which they have 30 days to make.

Read NBCChicago.com's coverage of this story

“This decision by FEMA is unacceptable and out of touch with the reality that residents of Harrisburg, Ridgway and the surrounding areas are facing as the storm clean-up continues,” they said in a joint statement. “The damage from the storms in Southern Illinois is among the worst our state has seen in recent years. Federal funding is greatly needed to help residents and families rebuild and we will continue working to see that these communities are made whole again.”

Illinois' lawmakers have sent a letter to President Barack Obama asking him to issue a major declaration for the state and to provide relief for the counties struck by the severe weather that has left local governments, charitable groups and evacuees "taking on the initial costs of the disasters," the senators' statement said.

Such a declaration would allow cities and counties to apply for federal reimbursements to help pay for storm damage repairs.

Obama recently declared a disaster for Indiana, freeing up federal funding for those affected by the weather in six counties, while in Kentucky, 16 counties have been designated for disaster aid, according to FEMA.

Quinn said he was "extremely disappointed" with the decision and supports lawmakers' efforts encouraging FEMA to reconsider, NBC Chicago.com said.

Msnbc.com news services contributed to this report.

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