More California Cities Join Revolt Against ‘Sanctuary State’

Two more California cities joined the growing revolt this week against “sanctuary state” laws enacted by Governor Jerry Brown.

The city council of Fountain Valley in Orange County voted on Tuesday to join the U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit against the state that was filed last month in Sacramento — thanks, in part, to intervention by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), who faces a tough re-election fight in November.

The Los Angeles Times reports: “A majority of the Fountain Valley City Council overcame a reluctance to spend public funds on joining the growing Orange County movement against California’s so-called sanctuary immigration laws after U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher offered Tuesday to foot the bill for the city to file a court brief supporting a federal lawsuit targeting the laws.”

And on Wednesday, the city council of Escondido in San Diego County also voted to join the fight by filing a brief in support of the Trump administration’s case by Friday.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports:

Following a contentious, three-hour meeting filled with name-calling and impassioned pleas, the Escondido City Council voted 4-1 Wednesday to file a legal brief in support of the U.S. government’s lawsuit challenging the state’s sanctuary laws.

…

More than 70 people spoke during a public meeting in a packed City Council chambers, with most addressing the larger issue of immigration and often echoing the national divide between President Trump’s supporters and detractors.

Escondido Mayor Sam Abed, himself an immigrant, defended the council’s 4-1 vote against “sanctuary” laws, underscoring the need to work with federal law enforcement authorities to keep the community safe.

The lawsuit targets three statutes: the Immigrant Worker Protection Act (HB 450), the Inspection and Review of Facilities Housing Federal Detainees law (AB 103); and the California Values Act (SB 54).

Thus far, several Orange County cities, and the county itself, have joined the revolt.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named to Forward’s 50 “most influential” Jews in 2017. He is the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.