Wall Street Journal
By Alicia A. Caldwell and Ian Lovitt
March 27, 2018
Orange County officials on Tuesday voted to condemn parts of California’s approach to immigration, aligning themselves with the Trump administration as the state increasingly stakes out an oppositional role.
At a packed public hearing, the county’s board of supervisors—all Republicans—also voted to support a federal lawsuit against California’s so-called sanctuary state law, which strictly limits when and how local authorities can cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Supervisor Lisa A. Bartlett said the goal of opposing the sanctuary law was to keep the county safe. “One of the most important things we must not do is to reward bad behavior,” she said. “If they are undocumented and committing crimes, they need to be deported.”
The move came days after another municipality in the conservative-leaning county, the small city of Los Alamitos, approved an ordinance to opt out of the sanctuary state law, and pointed to the fissures in California’s battle with the Trump administration over immigration and other issues.
For months now, the Democratic-led state has positioned itself as an adversary to President Donald Trump’s hard-line immigration policies, seeking to stymie the administration at every turn. California’s Democratic Attorney General Xavier Becerra has filed suit against the government multiple times, challenging policies ranging from immigration to the environment.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions, in turn, filed suit against California earlier this month, challenging the state’s immigration laws. The legal salvo elevated the feud and has drawn support from more than a dozen other states and, now, a growing number of California jurisdictions.
Troy Edgar, the mayor of Los Alamitos, which voted to opt out of the sanctuary state law, said, “I just think the state overstepped its boundary.”
Troy Edgar, the mayor of Los Alamitos, which voted to opt out of the sanctuary state law, said, “I just think the state overstepped its boundary.” Photo: Amy Taxin/Associated Press
Officials in two conservative-leaning Northern California counties and the city of Anderson earlier this year declared that their jurisdictions were “non-sanctuary” areas of the state, siding with the Trump administration.
Mr. Becerra on Tuesday said state law is clear on what is required of local officials and said his office would soon issue guidance on implementing it. “No one should overlook this: Our state law works in concert, not conflict, with federal law,” Mr. Becerra said.
The most vocal opposition in the state so far has come from Orange County, a wealthy coastal county and longtime Republican stronghold with a growing Democratic presence. Hillary Clinton won the county in the 2016 presidential election.
Though Democrats are hopeful about their chances of sweeping the area’s four Congressional seats in the 2018 midterm elections, city and county leaders aren’t going quietly.
The city council in Yorba Linda voted earlier this month to join the federal government’s lawsuit against California and file an amicus brief. Mayor Gene Hernandez said the broad state sanctuary policy was “an overreach on the part of the state.”
Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens said Monday that her office would now post release dates for anyone held in its jail, regardless of immigration status. Doing that allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to know when a wanted immigrant is to be released from jail. The move evades the sanctuary law’s limits on what information local authorities can share with federal immigration authorities because the information is being shared with the general public.
“My department…remains committed to cooperating fully with federal authorities in all areas where I have discretion to remove serious criminals from our community,” Ms. Hutchens said.
The governing board in Los Alamitos, a town just south of Long Beach, took the most aggressive step, approving their opt-out measure 4-1. Mayor Troy Edgar said the city is also planning to file an amicus brief in support of the federal government’s lawsuit.
Mr. Edgar said last week’s vote was less about worries of illegal immigration in his city than a message to state lawmakers.
“I just think the state overstepped its boundary,” Mr. Edgar said. “This type of issue should be dealt with by the U.S. government…and not the state.”
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