California State Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) is co-sponsoring a bill that would make clear that illegal aliens may serve in state office.
The bill, SB 174, would amend an old provision in the state code that was originally drawn up in 1872 “to exclude Chinese immigrants and other ‘transient aliens’ from holding appointed civil positions,” the Los Angeles Times notes.
However, Lara’s changes would not restrict state offices to citizens or legal residents, but rather allow anyone present in the state to serve, regardless of immigration status.
California has already allowed at least two illegal aliens to serve in state office. Most recently, State Sen. Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) appointed Lizbeth Mateo to the California Student Opportunity and Access Program Project Grant Advisory Committee.
Mateo is an illegal alien who was brought to the U.S. as a minor by her parents but is not eligible for deferred deportation under DACA because she returned to Mexico and attempted to re-enter the U.S. in 2013 as part of a protest. She was detained at the border and requested asylum — after spending several weeks in Mexico with family.
Lara, who has made attacks on President Donald Trump the hallmark of his faltering campaign for California Insurance Commissioner, is notorious for proposing radical legislation.
Last year, Lara helped introduce the “Healthy California Act,” which would create a single-payer, government-run health care system in the state — though he never indicated how the state would pay for it. He also proposed legislation to discriminate against any contractors who work on President Trump’s border wall, banning them for life from doing business with the state. Lara also successfully introduced sanctuary state legislation that prevents local governments and law enforcement agencies from contracting with the federal government to detain illegal immigrants.
Despite his left-wing politics, which fit the current political climate in the state, Lara is reportedly losing badly to former California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, who is running for his old job as an independent rather than as a Republican.
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.