San Diego County’s Board of Supervisors voted 3-1 on Tuesday to support the U.S. Department of Justice (DOH) lawsuit against California’s “sanctuary state” laws.
Those supervisors who voted for filing an amicus brief to join the DOJ lawsuit cited public safety as their main concern, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. The county will file the brief at first opportunity according to board chair Kristin Gaspar, who said that would likely be on appeal.
The board heard a variety of opinions from a host of area residents on both sides of the issue. The report noted that one board member was traveling abroad and was not available to participate in the vote.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the DOJ lawsuit from on the ground in Sacramento, California, in March. As Breitbart News Senior Editor at Large Joel Pollak reported, “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).”
The number of California cities joining the DOJ has risen by the week since the Los Alamitos city council voted to do so in late March. Several Orange County cities followed, as did some cities from other areas of southern California. Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Mission Viejo, San Juan Capistrano, Aliso Viejo, Newport Beach, Orange, Westminster, Escondido, and Hesperia have decided to reject California’s sanctuary laws. More have also made moves against these laws or at least to discuss their rejection.
Beaumont City Council was scheduled on Tuesday to consider opposing SB 54, according to the Banning-Beaumont Cherry Valley Tea Party Patriots.
In early April, President Donald Trump ordered National Guard troops to each of the four border states so long as the governors of each state accept them. Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona have each accepted troops and already seen hundreds deployed to the U.S. southern border in their states.
Last week, California Gov. Jerry Brown issued a letter stating his acceptance of approximately 400 National Guard troops as offered by Trump; however, the non-enforcement activities proposed for the troops by Department of Homeland Security officials were subsequently rejected by the state. Acting Deputy Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Ron Vitiello told reporters on Monday that the department retains hope that California will consent to a future stage of the border enforcement operation.
Follow Michelle Moons on Twitter @MichelleDiana
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.