CA Lawmakers Propose Bill To Repeal State's Sanctuary Policies

As a drive to oust undocumented immigrants continues to disrupt the fabric of every day life in the Golden State, two Republican lawmakers are calling for an immediate end to California's sanctuary policies.

California state laws, adopted during President Donald Trump's first term, protects certain immigrants and limits how local law enforcement interact with federal immigration officers.

Assembly Concurrent Resolution 98, introduced by Assembly Republican leader James Gallagher (R-East Nicolaus) and Assemblymember Stan Ellis (R-Bakersfield), aims to end those policies.

The two lawmakers are calling for an “immediate end to policies that obstruct lawful immigration enforcement and urge the Governor to take immediate action to restore law and order.”

In a statement posted to social media, Gallagher condemns Gov. Gavin Newsom for his handling of immigration affairs.

“Federal officers were violently attacked in the streets of Los Angeles for doing their job—and Gavin Newsom’s policies helped create the conditions that allowed it to happen,” the statement reads. “Newsom’s sanctuary state agenda has made it harder to enforce the law and easier for mobs to take over our streets. Enough is enough.”

The bill further attempts to make a case that the Golden State's sanctuary laws have recently led to "dangerous gaps in communication and coordination between agencies, making it harder to plan safe operations and emboldening those who oppose immigration enforcement to interfere without consequence.”

"The lawlessness witnessed in the City of Los Angeles is not an isolated incident but a predictable outcome of state policies that undermine enforcement and handcuff law enforcement," the bill text reads.

The measure authored by the two GOP members urges Newsom to "restore law and order" by repealing sanctuary laws.

Trump himself attempted to target the state's sanctuary law when he signed an order in January titled the “Protecting the American People Against Invasion." That order included the denial of federal funds to sanctuary jurisdictions across the nation.

However, multiple sanctuary cities, with San Francisco leading the charge, filed a suit in February to challenge that executive order.

“Federal actions make clear that cities like San Francisco will be defunded if we do not give up our local authority and autonomy and comply,” San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu Chiu, said at a news conference on Feb. 7, Politico reported. “The Trump administration is asserting a right it does not have. They are trying to tell us how to use our resources and to commandeer our local law enforcement.”

Then, on April 24, a federal court blocked Trump from withholding funds to sanctuary jurisdictions.

“The Court’s ruling puts an immediate pause on the Trump Administration’s illegal attempts to freeze federal funding simply because it disagrees with local governments’ constitutionally protected decision not to use local resources for immigration enforcement,” said Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti.

While the GOP and Trump often target Newsom himself for what is often referred to as California's sanctuary law, the California Values Act was signed into law by former Gov. Jerry Brown in October 2017. The law bars state and local police from investigating, interrogating or arresting people for immigration enforcement.

It also limits police collaboration with immigration officers.

The former state Senate leader who offered the law, Kevin De León, told NPR in 2017 that the law was meant to make it clear that the federal government cannot force local police to become "a cog in the Trump deportation machine.”

"We also make it very clear that we limit immigration enforcement actions at public schools, hospitals, courthouses and where all California residents should feel safe regardless of their immigration status," De León said. "Now, we did have very hard negotiations - no doubt - with the governor as well as law enforcement. But I do believe we found a nice compromise that protects our communities while at the same time upholds public safety."