One of the things that the pro-illegal alien crowd was concerned with when Los Alamitos voted to opt-out of California’s sanctuary for illegal aliens laws was that other jurisdictions would follow suit. That could be happening
(Fox News) More towns and cities in California are exploring options to follow Los Alamitos in rejecting the state’s sanctuary law.
Members of the Los Alamitos Council voted Monday to opt out of a state law that limits cooperation between local police and federal immigration agents.
“Tiny Los Alamitos has kicked open the door,” state Assemblyman Travis Allen told the Orange County Register, “and now other cities across California are looking to get on board and stand up against the illegal sanctuary state.†(snip)
The council’s move inspired officials in Orange County and the cities of Aliso Viejo and Buena Park to consider adopting similar measures against California’s sanctuary law.
Orange County Supervisor Michelle Steel said in a statement Tuesday that she plans to present a similar ordinance to the Board of Supervisors.
“I thank the City of Los Alamitos for standing up for its citizens and rejecting the so-called ‘sanctuary’ legislation passed in Sacramento, and I urge the County of Orange and all of our cities to do the same,” Steel said in the release.
Now, remember, there are actually many parts of California which actually vote Republican in big enough numbers to elect some Republicans. These are the places that have been discussed in all the splitting the state of California plans (here’s one of the latest). You could easily see quite a few of them pick up this banner and run with it.
Meanwhile, the ACLU is Very Concerned
(LA Times) The mayor (of Los Alamitos, Warren Kusumoto) acknowledged the ordinance might set off a legal battle but said that doesn’t concern him, adding the vote has important symbolic meaning.
“Is it going to hold up? I don’t know,” he said. “I just want to protect our community. It’s that simple.”
It would be interesting to see the State of California fight a jurisdiction, attempting to force them to comply in non-cooperation with federal immigration authorities. How well will that play on the national stage?
Sameer Ahmed, staff attorney at the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, called the measure a “blatant violation of the city’s obligation to follow state law,” stating that the foundation was ready to launch a lawsuit if the measure is given final approval.
Wait, what? Wouldn’t that mean that California’s sanctuary state laws are blatant violations of the state’s obligation to follow federal law? 8 U.S. Code § 1373 would be one of the relevant statutes.
Localities have a lot of discretion but they cannot contravene state law, said Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School.
“That’s essentially what they are trying to do. I think this is a political statement and not one that is necessarily legal,” she said. “Can you imagine the consequences if cities and counties could do this on a regular basis…. You shouldn’t make a political statement through potentially impermissible laws.”
Can you imagine if states and cities and counties decided to fail to follow federal immigration law on a regular basis?
This is a no win situation for the left in California. Oppose this ordinance and they admit that their own sanctuary state status is wrong. Let this ordinance stand and not only will a lot of democrat voters be deported, but these illegals will be abandoning these cities and flock to the cities that will protect them.